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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22617883">Papillon (KHR Fan-Fiction)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/arxanna/pseuds/arxanna'>arxanna</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Katekyou Hitman Reborn!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 19:01:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Underage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>34,501</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22617883</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/arxanna/pseuds/arxanna</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>║𝑷𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒏:  𝐵𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑙𝑦; 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒, ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒.║</p><p>She hated how her life was being controlled by her family, even her future marriage. It was not easy to be the daughter of a famous duke. What she did not expect that she had met someone who will free her from the locked cage.</p><p>( Alaude x [OC] )</p><p>*Prequel to The Handmaiden's Diary<br/>*KHR belongs to Amano Akira<br/></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. That Mysterious Saviour</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Angelique Bravard had to attend another boring function. She wished that she would just stay at home. As if her family would let her stay back at home. They wanted their daughter to meet a lot of people. She huffed with annoyance, she knew that her parents wanting to choose a good man for their youngest daughter. Her first sister was married while her oldest brother and her other two older sisters were still single, currently searching for their life partner. Compared to all of them, Angelique was more rebellious and she wanted to have her freedom. It was not as easy as she thought since she was one of the Bravard family member, who was popular amongst the other wealthy families.</p><p>"I'm not going to that function!" Angelique retorted hotly as she looked at one of her maids.</p><p>"But, milady-"</p><p>"Whatever reason is, I am not going!" Angelique interrupted and quickly dressed in a white dress shirt, knee-length pants and a brown coat. She tied her long blonde hair into a tight bun before she covered it with a cap.</p><p>"Milady! The duke would be not happy about how milady dressed!" one of her maids gasped with shock to see how Angelique wore her attire.</p><p>"Dresses are too troublesome. I want to wear something where I can move as freely as I can," she quickly added while putting on her leather boots. "In case my father asks about my whereabouts, please tell him that I am too ill to move around."</p><p>Before her maid could say anything, Angelique jumped out from her bedroom's window and headed out from the backyard through her mansion's large garden. She quickened her pace and made all her way to the dark alley where her good friend, Philippe waited. His appearance was just like any normal citizens in the town and he was not from a distinguished family-like Angelique do. His father happened to be working as a butler at the Bravard mansion and that was how both of them met.</p><p>"You're late than usual, Angie," said Philippe with a slight smirk on his face.</p><p>"You guess it. My father forced me to go to another function," Angelique scowled as she leaned against the wall.</p><p>"Is it alright with you? What if the duke finds out that you've been gone?"</p><p>"I do not want anyone else to control my life, even my own family. They are just too busy focusing on finding some good men for me and my other unmarried sisters."</p><p>"And how long are you going to do this? I mean, you are Angelique Bravard and everyone knows who you are. The duke would not be very impressed to have such 'impolite' daughter not attending any events."</p><p>"Gah! I hated it! Can't I just be a normal person like you are??" Angelique retorted and looked at Philippe. "Look, I just hate it so much to be a highly distinguished family member. See, I have to attend fencing, dancing and singing classes. Then, I hardly have time to play around because I was being told to go to sleep early. And I have to act like a proper lady in front of the annoying guests. What's worse? I am going to be married off to another man chosen by my parents. Tell me, where's my exact freedom??"</p><p>Philippe was silent as he heard her numbers of complaints of being a duke's daughter. He used to envy towards her luxurious life until his father had mentioned that it was not an easy life for someone like Angelique. He clapped her back before he spoke out.</p><p>"Well, you have time until your family comes back from the function. Want to go and get something to eat? My cousin owns a bakery shop and he makes lots of good pastries."</p><p>The young woman's eyes blinked with interest. She quickly nodded and asked Philippe to bring her to that place. As both of them walked down the streets, no one had ever noticed Angelique thanks to her boyish attire. Right after they bought some bread and pastries, they settled down on the bench nearby the shop.</p><p>"Gosh, Phil! Your cousin is such a good baker!" exclaimed Angelique after she took a bite of croissant.</p><p>"Really?? Is it much better than the one you usually eat at home?" asked Philippe with surprise.</p><p>"I don't mean to be so ungrateful towards my family's cook, but seriously. Your cousin's pastries are just perfect. My father never liked any of us to eat food from outside"</p><p>"Your parents are really strict to all of you."</p><p>"For the name of Bravard," snapped Angelique as she took another bite.</p><p>Both of them suddenly heard a scream from the corner of the alley. With curiosity, Angelique and Philippe went towards that place and were in shock to see a group of gangsters cornering an injured poor young man. He was begging the gang not to beat him further and made a word that he will settle the debt. That did not work as the gang leader told his members to beat him up again. Angelique was already furious by looking at them and had picked up a large palm-sized rock before she threw it straight to the leader. The leader yelped with pain after being hit with it and he turned to look at her with his furious look.</p><p>"Hey, sh*t! Do you want to die?!"</p><p>"Don't you ever felt ashamed for beating up someone weaker than you, b*st*rd?!" said Angelique with her harsh voice.</p><p>"That's none of your business! And now I'm going to teach you a lesson for hitting me!"</p><p>"Well, I would love to see you try, <em>imbécile</em>."</p><p>She managed to run before the gangsters could start to chase her. Leaving Philippe behind, she ran as quick as a lightning and she knew that the gangsters were following her from behind. However, she got herself ran into an old warehouse and she had nowhere to escape after the gangsters had arrived before locking the door. The leader smirked with amusement looking at her condition. His two members ran up to catch her without hesitation.</p><p>Angelique refused to give up and had successfully pushed the heavy wooden crates towards the other two at the stairs. This caused both of them to fall from the stairs along with the crates. The leader gritted his teeth with anger and decided to chase her instead. She felt that she might not be able to beat him up and jumped out from the old window. She carefully landed onto the rusty pipe and was going to walk sideways when she felt a rough shake on the pipe. She looked back at the window and the leader was shaking the rusty pipe vigorously to make her fall.</p><p>Her boots slipped and she was falling from the pipe. She screamed with shock while shutting both of her eyes tightly. She knew that she was going to die, waiting for the moment to have her head crashed onto the floor.</p><p>Nothing happened.</p><p>Angelique felt that someone had managed to pick her up at the right time. Was it Philippe? Did he save her? She opened her eyes and she was about to call his name only to find that it was someone else who had saved her life.</p><p>At a closer look, the mysterious stranger had short platinum blonde hair and a pair of ice-blue eyes. He also appeared to wear a dark grey trench coat. Angelique caught herself staring at her saviour for too long and nervously asked him to put her down.</p><p>"Have you hurt anywhere, <em>mademoiselle</em>?" the stranger asked with a cold, but calm tone.</p><p>"N-no, I'm fine...p-please put me down right n-now..." she stuttered nervously.</p><p>After the stranger placed her down on the ground, she quickly thanked him and ran away without looking at him. She kept on running without knowing where she was until she was out of her breath. Her heart still beating fast when she thought of that mysterious stranger. For all her life, she had no feelings towards any men she had met. It seemed that this stranger had finally placed her in a state of confusion. Nervousness overpowered her and she could not know when she will ever meet him again. She did not realise that Philippe was coming towards her while panting, catching his breath.</p><p>"Angie...are you alright? Angie??"</p><p>"H-huh??" she blinked and turned to look at him. "Oh, I'm fine. What about that poor man?"</p><p>"I've taken him to see the doctor and at least I pay for his medicine," Philippe answered and he noticed such odd look on Angelique's face. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Are you alright? Did that gangster hurt you anywhere?"</p><p>"No, they did not. I mean, I've managed to beat out his minions and I tried to escape but I fell. I thought I was going to die until."</p><p>"Until what?"</p><p>"A-a mysterious stranger saved my life in a nick of time..." Angelique muttered as her face slowly turned into some different shades of red. Philippe was dumbfounded to see her sudden reaction.</p><p>"Whoa, Angie! Your face's red! Are you in love with that stranger??"</p><p>"Shush! Don't say it out so loud, Phil!"</p><p>"It's rare for you to react like that. There are many good looking men outside there and you show no interest in them. Looks like this stranger has captured your heart."</p><p>"What's the use, Phil? I only get to see him once and I don't even know his name. I might not get to see him another time, you know."</p><p>Philippe was about to say something when his pair of hazel eyes fixed on the clock tower. He quickly turned to look at Angelique with a worried look.</p><p>"We better return. You need to go back to your mansion. Your family are on their way back home and you're going to be in big trouble if your father found out you've snuck out from your room."</p><p>Angelique nodded and they both quickly returned to the dark alley. After bidding farewell to Philippe, she returned to the mansion and climbed back into her bedroom. Her eyes widened in shock to see her two older sisters standing at her bedroom door with a slight smirk on their lips.</p><p>"Looks like Santa Claus had listed our dear little sister's name on his naughty kids' list."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Elena's Birthday</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Why are you trying to kill her?"</p><p>"S-she started it! If it is not her being so busybody, I would not have chased her down!"</p><p>He was in the old warehouse to find out who had been trying to harm the young woman that he managed to save minutes ago. As soon as he found out that they were just a bunch of gangsters, he narrowed his eyes and spoke out with a cold, stern voice.</p><p>"Leave, and if I see you trying to beat up anyone, I'll arrest you to death."</p><p>The gangsters shivered at his murderous stare and quickly ran out from the warehouse. He sighed with an irritated look. He noticed something was blinking under the moonlight that shone through the broken window. He picked it up only to know that it was a silver butterfly necklace. It was too valuable to leave it in the abandoned place.</p><p>"Could it be?" he muttered curiously. He might have known who was the owner of this necklace.</p><p>He was stunned by the young woman's beauty earlier and something had captured his own heart. He vividly remembered her long, blonde hair, fair skin, darker shade of her blue eyes. His lips turned into a small smile as he placed the butterfly necklace into his coat pocket. He took out his golden pocket watch to see the time before he left the warehouse.</p><p>"<em>Little papillon.</em>"</p><hr/><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span class="u">At the Bravard's mansion..</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span class="u">.</span>
    </em>
  </b>
</p><p>Angelique hated both of her older sisters so much. They were just too proud to be their's father's spy. She admitted that she used to be her father's precious princess when she was young. Her older sisters appeared to be very jealous back then and looked like it was payback time for her. With her boyish attire, she was standing in front of her angry father, accompanied by her mother at the living hall.</p><p>"Why do you have to lie to us that you're too ill to go for an important function? Don't you know that everyone there is asking about your whereabouts?"</p><p>"I'm tired of all these functions, father! The only thing I have to do there was nothing but talk. Father can't force me to do what I don't like."</p><p>"You'd better remind yourself that you are one of the famous Bravard family, young lady! The duke's daughter! It is just a relief that no one ever sees you in that such...inappropriate attire!" retorted her father angrily.</p><p>"Seriously, Angelique. You are a young woman, why are you dressing up as a boy instead? Are you onto something that we didn't know??" asked one of her older sister with a slight smirk.</p><p>"Shut up, Antoinette! I don't need you to ask me why I would dress like this!" Angelique snapped.</p><p>"Why you little-!"</p><p>"That's ENOUGH!! Angelique, you're not supposed to yell at your older sister! Now get back to your room and no dinner for tomorrow!"</p><p>"But, father-!"</p><p>"NOW!!"</p><p>With much anger, Angelique stormed off to her room and slammed the door shut. She threw herself on the bed and flung her cap at the corner of her room. It was not the first time she had a row with her father. She realised that he had changed a lot ever since her brother, Guillaume got married to a woman that their father never approved. He strictly to have all his daughters to marry with any young men who had the royalty status (or equally) as the Bravard family. Angelique's oldest sister, Christine was married to another duke's son and they seemed to get along quite well. Only left her other two older sisters and herself. If only she could change her father's mind about having her to choose her life partner rather than himself. </p><p>Speaking about that, she suddenly thought of the mysterious stranger who had saved her life from those gangsters that night. She could not forget his cold blue eyes and the way the moonlight illuminated his platinum blonde hair. She also could not forget his cold voice back then. The only thing she regretted was running away from her saviour without even asking for his name.</p><p>"Man, if it isn't because of that idiot gang leader, I would have stayed and asked for his name!" she muttered angrily and kept on punching her pillow. She later heard a slight knock at her bedroom door and she scowled, letting anyone enter her room. It was none other than her brother, Guillaume. By looking at his little sister's scowl, he gave his apologetic smile and sat on her bed.</p><p>"Why is that, Angelique? Are you angry with your dear brother?"</p><p>"I'm not! I-I just thinking if father is the one going to come in here."</p><p>"Oh?" Guillaume laughed a little and ruffled Angelique's hair. "You can't just keep on getting angry with father. He had been worried when he heard that you've been ill."</p><p>"And I'm not ill. I lied, I went out instead, that is why father is angry with me."</p><p>"Because he was worried that someone outside the mansion might kidnap you or trying to hurt you."</p><p>"Hey, I'm not a little kid anymore. At least I'm safe when I'm with Philippe."</p><p>"Philippe? Our butler's son? Are you thinking of wanting to marry him one day?"</p><p>"Of course not! Philippe is my good friend, and he understands that. Don't you know that he has a girlfriend? Even so, father would have never approved Philippe despite his father is working as the butler in our mansion," Angelique sighed. "I think I've found someone that I might like but..."</p><p>"You do??" asked Guillaume with surprise. Angelique went on to explain about what happened that night and about her mysterious saviour. He chuckled lightly as he heard how frustrated Angelique was. "You silly girl. If it is not because of those gangsters, you may not be able to see your crush, you know."</p><p>"What?? You think I should thank them for finding my love partner??"</p><p>"Who knows? And if you do like that stranger, you might be able to meet him once again. Just wait for the right time."</p><p>"Alright. Wait, why are you here in the first place? Is there anything you want to tell me?"</p><p>"Oh, I almost forgot. Do you want to know why father said no dinner tomorrow?"</p><p>Angelique shook her head, though knowing it was probably her punishment for sneaking out from the mansion. Guillaume slightly smiled before he continued.</p><p>"Tomorrow is Elena's birthday and we are all going, even you to her grand birthday party."</p><p>"Holy crap! Elena's birthday?? No wonder there's no dinner tomorrow."</p><p>"So, no more sneaking out again. I am hinting that father might try to introduce some good men there for you, but I'll bet you'll be very happy to see Elena than any of them."</p><p>Angelique nodded and decided to check her closet to pick a good dress for that event. Guillaume said goodnight and left her room to let her have a fitful rest until tomorrow.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>
    <b>
      <span class="u">At Elena's mansion in Italy...</span>
    </b>
  </em>
</p><p>"You'd better behave yourself, Angelique. We don't want everyone to know that we have such a rebellious little sister. Just like what had happened last night," scoffed Claudine.</p><p>"Well, don't ever walk with me then. I can't believe that I have to come along with two of you," huffed Angelique with annoyance.</p><p>"You little brat..." muttered Claudine.</p><p>"Father had assigned both of us to take care of you, little brat. Now, how about both of us fix your delicate hair?" smirked Antoinette.</p><p>"Get your wrinkled hands away from me!" snapped Angelique. While Claudine and Antoinette were about to touch her hair, Guillaume came to them and gave them a stern look at his two sisters.</p><p>"Claudine, Antoinette, stop bullying Angelique. Just because father made both of you to watch over her doesn't mean you can do anything to her."</p><p>"We just want to teach her a lesson," said Claudine.</p><p>"That does not look like it. Don't ever let me caught you do that to Angelique," warned Guillaume and he escorted his youngest sister into Elena's mansion.</p><p>"Yeah, I know that, big brother. He didn't realise that he was the one who made father angry for marrying a poor woman," taunted Antoinette. "Well, she's dead anyway-"</p><p>"A-Antoinette! Don't ever say that! Guillaume will be extremely furious! Remember the day he slapped hard one of the maids for badmouthing his girlfriend?" whispered Claudine with her alarmed voice. Antoinette's eyes widened and feeling horrified and relief that their brother had gone further to see Elena.</p><p>The guests were having some discussions and both Guillaume and Angelique met Elena at the marble floor stairs. With her silver satin ball dress matching her long blonde hair, she waved excitedly at them before she walked towards them.</p><p>"Ah, Guillaume, Angelique! Thank you for coming to my birthday party."</p><p>"Happy birthday, Elena," Guillaume smiled and gently kissed Elena's hand as a polite gesture. "Looks like your party is getting livelier with more guests."</p><p>"Almost everyone I know is invited," Elena chuckled. "Ah, I should introduce some good friend of mine for both of you. I bet you will want to get to know them better."</p><p>Elena then brought Guillaume and Angelique to meet some of her good friends. As they came over to the hallway, an aristocrat with short bluish-green hair noticed Elena and waved at her. As soon as they had met, Elena introduced Daemon Spade to the two of them. Soon after, another one joined them and introduced himself as Giotto, Elena's good friend as well. They ended up having small talk and Angelique had to excuse herself for a moment to the washroom.</p><p>After a few minutes, she realised that the number of guests was increasing, causing her not able to relocate her brother and Elena. Angelique carefully walked past the guests and she somewhat got herself being surrounded by some middle-aged men who were interested in her. This situation made her irritated and uncomfortable.</p><p>"Hello there, miss. Would you like to have a drink with us?" said one of them with a wicked smile.</p><p>"Come on, there's no trouble-"</p><p>"Please, excuse me and let me go through," she said rather in a polite way.</p><p>"Not until you agree to drink with us," sneered one of the men.</p><p>The men were getting closer towards Angelique. She had to back away from them and tried to walk quickly only to bump into someone by accident. She was going to apologise when her eyes blinked in surprise. She could not believe what she had seen. Though his face was covered with a white Venetian masquerade mask, she still recognised him a little.</p><p>Just like that night.</p><p>That cold, blue eyes and glowing platinum blonde hair.</p><p>Her mysterious saviour.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Little Papillon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Giotto was on his way to Elena's mansion to celebrate her grand birthday. He was invited along with all his guardians but only a few of them were following; G, Lampo and surprisingly, Alaude. Daemon was already at Elena's place while Knuckle and Asari had other things to handle.</p><p>"I'm not going to wear that mask, Primo!" said G hotly. "It's too ridiculous on my face!"</p><p>"Please, just wear it for the sake of Elena. It's her birthday and we want to make her happy," said Giotto with a grin on his face.</p><p>"Is there no other options than this...decorative mask??" asked G curiously.</p><p>"You know that Elena loves Venetian style. Besides, it's not only us wearing it. The guests in that party are wearing it as well," said Lampo.</p><p>G was about to snap back when Alaude had placed the white mask on his face. He never liked it as well but he was doing it for the sake of Elena. Giotto shot a smirk at G and gave a 'see-even-he-is-wearing-it' look. G sighed heavily and muttered while placing the red mask on his face. Lampo put on the mask as well but Giotto was not wearing it, decided to save it once they arrive at their destination.</p><p>The four of them then met up with Elena and greeted each other before Alaude excused himself to go to the garden as he did not like to stand in a crowd. When he was about to exit the hallway, he felt someone bumped into him and he quickly turned to see who it was. He was astonished to see a beautiful young woman in front of him and it was just too unusual for him to react like that.</p><p>He recognised that woman.</p><p>It was the same person that he had saved last night.</p><p>Angelique was giving the same reaction as he was, realising that she finally met her mysterious saviour. However, she was also doubtful at the same time. Since this man was wearing a mask, she could have recognised the wrong person. This would be a great embarrassment to herself. If her sisters knew about it, she was going to be their laughing stock. If he was the one she wanted to see, would he ever know who she was as she was wearing a boyish outfit that night?</p><p>
  <em>I'd better go. I could not risk myself. Everyone would laugh at me for this stupid mistake I made.</em>
</p><p>She tried to walk away from him and from those annoying men before she felt a firm grip on her arm, much to her shock. She looked up and it turned out that he was stopping her from going away.</p><p>"Hey, why are you holding her like that??" asked one of the men with a dislike look.</p><p>"And perhaps you can tell me why are you following this young lady?" asked the masked skylark with a cold voice, the same voice that Angelique heard that day.</p><p>"We...we just want her to drink with us, that's all!" retorted one of them.</p><p>"Find someone else to drink with and leave her alone."</p><p>With a sharp, cold glare from his blue eyes, the men trembled with shock and slowly backed away from him and Angelique. She was surprised to see their sudden reaction after he gave them a warning and eventually looked up to him.</p><p>"Um, thank you for helping me, sir."</p><p>"You're welcome. You should be careful with these drunkards."</p><p>"I know..." Angelique gave a light sigh. "This is why I never want to attend any social functions."</p><p>"Don't be upset, mademoiselle. Your presence surely makes Elena feel joyful. She has been looking forward to seeing you," said the masked skylark further.</p><p>"H-how do you know that Elena and I are friends??"</p><p>"Being the duke's daughter, she knows almost everyone especially her good friends. Besides..." He lowered his body a little so that he could whisper in her ear with his gentle voice. "....I have been looking forward to seeing you, little papillon."</p><p>Angelique's face immediately turned red and nervously looking back at the mysterious man. That such stare from his blue eyes was just the same as that night he saved her from the gangsters. She felt relieved that it was the same person she had been wanting to meet once again.</p><p>Before she could say anything, she heard a loud clap coming from Elena's hand. All the guests turned their heads to see Elena and she announced that everyone will get to dance once she instructed the orchestra band to play the music. As soon the music had started, Elena and Daemon were the first to waltz across the floor gracefully. Some guests clapped for both of them before they too joined in to dance. Angelique smiled to see how happy Elena and Daemon were. She then felt her hand being held up by her mysterious saviour.</p><p>"Shall we dance, mademoiselle?" he asked with a small smile carved on his lips. Angelique's eyes blinked and quickly lowered her head where she could see the floor instead of him. "What's wrong?"</p><p>"I-I'm terrible at dancing, even after years of attending dancing classes," she said with her embarrassed look, being prepared to be laughed at. The other simply lifted her chin at the level where they both could look at each other.</p><p>"You would think that I'll laugh at you for that? Just follow my steps and everything will be fine."</p><p>He brought Angelique to the dancing floor and stood at the position where they would be able to dance. Once he carefully placed both of his hands at her hand and her waist, Angelique did the same by placing her hands on his hand and his shoulder. Some guests started to watch both of them with interest and this made her much more nervous. She noticed that her two sisters were watching as well, waiting for the right time to laugh at her. Trying to concentrate, she slowly followed the masked skylark's steps, walking towards the centre of the crowds and they both started to waltz. Some minutes had passed, Angelique soon got used to it and had managed to dance at the same time with him.</p><p>Elena was amazed to see that they both dance well while Daemon had a slight smirk on his face as if he knew who that man was. Giotto and Guillaume watched with surprise since they knew that both (Alaude and Angelique) could not dance very well at the first look.</p><p>Claudine and Antoinette gaped with shock upon Angelique's excellent performance and they appeared to look angry for not getting to laugh at her. As they were going to end their dance, the guests clapped for their good performance. The skylark took this chance to bring Angelique to the garden for a walk.</p><p>Only both of them at the large garden and Angelique felt a slight peace after being surrounded by many people. When she turned around to look at her mysterious saviour, he was already taking off the mask from his face and used his slender hand to run through his hair. Angelique was not able to talk to him due to her shyness and awkwardness before she later gained some courage to speak out.</p><p>"T-thanks for the dance invitation, sir-"</p><p>"Please, just call me Alaude," he replied shortly and turned to look at her. "You must be Angelique Bravard, am I right?"</p><p>"You know my name?"</p><p>"Didn't I mentioned that Elena knows a lot of people? I've said that I'm looking forward to seeing you again."</p><p>"Again? Wait, you know me, even in my different attire?"</p><p>"That does not matter," Alaude walked towards her and taking out something shiny from his suit pocket. "I just want to return this necklace to you, little papillon. You happened to drop it after you went home last night."</p><p>Angelique blinked with surprise, finally had realised that she had lost her precious butterfly necklace given by her father. Despite her drastic relationship with her father, she still kept it to remember the times she used to be very close to him.</p><p>"Thank you so much, Alaude! I've never realised that I could lose this necklace!"</p><p>"Is it so important to you?"</p><p>"Yes, it is. A special gift from my father," Angelique sighed and sat on the bench under the large tree. She looked at her necklace with a sad smile. "I'm not going to brag about it, but I used to be my father's precious little princess when I was young. The whole family of us were happy back then until the day my brother had decided to marry a woman named Lilia. She had a poor background life, working as a florist. My father placed the family's name above anything and he only approved someone who had the royal status, or as equal as the duke. My brother and my father argued a lot all because of Lilia. When the day my father almost wanted to disown Guillaume, Lilia took her own life by drowning herself in the lake. She blamed herself for their strained relationship according to her suicide note."</p><p>Alaude had already sat beside her and listened to her story attentively. He did hear about how strict the Bravard family when it comes to a marriage of their children from Elena. He never expected that Guillaume's choice to marry Lilia almost brought a raging crisis in the Bravard family.</p><p>"Did your brother stayed then?"</p><p>"Yes, he stayed and remained unmarried to any other woman. Because of that, my parents had the power to decide whom are we going to be married off. And that is how my life started to feel like I'm in a locked cage."</p><p>"And you don't like to be controlled, that is why you rebel against your father."</p><p>"Wha-?? You know what am I thinking??"</p><p>"Because I don't like to be controlled either. I'd rather be my own and making my own decision."</p><p>Both of them laughed a little since they never expected that they both preferred to be independent rather than being controlled. Angelique was far more comfortable when she was with Alaude and had been hoping to see him frequently. Her hope to stay longer to talk to him was shattered when she heard her father calling out for her name. She grunted with annoyance and stood up from the bench.</p><p>"I have to go now or there will be the next war at home later on."</p><p>"You really should go or your father will worry about you."</p><p>"If, my father ever feel that way. I don't think I'm going to have a chance to see you again."</p><p>"Don't skip to conclusions, Angelique. The time will tell when we'll be able to meet another time."</p><p>"R-really?"</p><p>Angelique had her unsure look on her face and she hated it when she had to bid Alaude goodbye. The skylark leaned and gently pressed his lips against her forehead before he stood back and smiled at her. She went so speechless that her face had turned darker red than a tomato.</p><p>"Trust me, little papillon."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Journey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"You finally meet him?"</p><p>"Yes, it's just unbelievable that he happened to be Elena's good friend."</p><p>Philippe was done sweeping the large garden at the Bravard's mansion. He had been listening to Angelique's story about her meeting with her mysterious saviour at Elena's birthday party last week. He sat on the nearby bench while Angelique was standing under the large oak tree.</p><p>"And, do you know his name?" Philippe smirked playfully at Angelique as she rolled her eyes, knowing that he was trying to tease her.</p><p>"His name is Alaude. Sounds a lot like a French name, but he's from Italy. I wonder if he's a part French."</p><p>"Strange, that name sounds familiar," Philippe muttered with curiosity. "Where did I hear that name?"</p><p>"Is he someone famous, Phil?"</p><p>"Well, there's a rumour about him. I heard that his mother is the daughter of the most well-known aristocrat in France. She is so beautiful that almost all noblemen want to marry her. Years ago, she was not seen in public until some people recently saw her visiting the church to baptize her infant son. Her husband's identity is still unknown until now."</p><p>"So he's a part of the royalty?" Angelique asked as she felt doubtful about it. "But, he does not look like it."</p><p>"That is what everyone wondering about it. He looks like he is working on some sort of a mysterious organisation rather than being a royal family."</p><p>Angelique was speechless when she learnt about Alaude's background. As he had some royal blood inside him, she thought it would be alright if she could see him frequently. However, her father sternly not allowing her to see or talk to him. She noticed that her father had a strong dislike of Alaude for some reason. She still remembered his warnings that night after Elena's birthday.</p><p>
  <em>"I don't care whether he's a royal family or not! I forbid you to see or talking to him ever again, do you understand?!"</em>
</p><p>"Father seemed to hate Alaude so much before I could say anything about him," said Angelique.</p><p>"Did he ever knew who he was?" asked Philippe curiously.</p><p>"I don't know. All he did was to warn me not to see him again," she sighed with frustration.</p><p>Not long after that, Angelique was being called out by one of the maids and eventually left Philippe to do the rest of the gardening work. She entered her father's study room and was astonished to see Claudine and Antoinette standing in front of their father. As everyone assembled, the duke of Bravard family stood up and cleared his throat, facing his three daughters.</p><p>"I have notified a good friend of mine who lives in the southern part of France, further from this district. We have made an agreement where we decided to have our children to meet each other at his place. I need the three of you to pack your things ready for tomorrow as it will be a long journey, and please..." his eyes sharply darted at his youngest daughter. "...behave well when you're talking to the duke of Anatole family."</p><p>Claudine nudged at Angelique's arm with a smirk on her face. "Did you hear that? Father says you should behave well."</p><p>"Shut up, I don't need you to tell me twice," snapped Angelique and turned away from her older sister.</p><p>"Father, are the three of us going to travel by ourselves?" asked Antoinette.</p><p>"No. I also have called up for a vigilante group's help to assist the three of you," answered the duke. Claudine crossed her arms with the feeling of insecure.</p><p>"Can they be trusted? What if they are going to rob us?"</p><p>"You don't need to worry about them, Claudine. Elena's father was the one who suggested me to ask for their help. Besides, they have a good reputation in Italy and they helped a lot of people in need. Now, if there are no questions to ask, you will need to get ready for the long trip tomorrow."</p><hr/><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span class="u">Outside the Bravard family's mansion...</span>
    </em>
  </b>
</p><p>"Pretty sure it is just a formal meeting between two families. Why they need to bring lots of luggage?" Lampo grumbled as he placed all the luggage behind the horse carriage.</p><p>"Stop grumbling, brat. It's normal for women to bring along their unnecessary things to whatever place they are going," G snapped while passing some items to Lampo. Giotto appeared from behind and patted G's shoulder.</p><p>"G, even if we know how they are, we just need to keep all our complaints by ourselves. I don't intend to cause more trouble towards the Bravard family. We are here to assist his three daughters to southern France safely," Giotto calmly said to his Storm Guardian.</p><p>"Hey, Primo's right, and by the way," Knuckle slightly smirked and nudged G's elbow. "Don't you know that Alaude is in love with this duke's youngest daughter? This should be a great chance for-"</p><p>Before he could finish his sentences, the skylark already appeared behind him and smacked his head hard with a glare at his eyes. "If we're done, let us go now."</p><p>Once they were done placing the luggage behind the carriage, Daemon and Giotto led Claudine, Antoinette and Angelique into the carriage seat. As they sat down, Angelique was staring at outside through the window only to be surprised to see Alaude was coming along with Giotto and others. She wanted to call out for him but he was already entering another carriage along with Asari and Lampo. She sighed with disappointment and sat back, somehow had just wished that she could sit with Alaude instead of her annoying two older sisters who were busy talking to southern France.</p><p>Barely about four hours passed, they stopped by at the nearest coffee shop for a break. Claudine and Antoinette got down from the carriage and they kept on complaining about not being able to sit comfortably during the trip. Angelique remained silent and facepalmed over her sister's ungrateful attitude.</p><p>"Seriously, they should get a better carriage for us to sit like our own home. This one is too hot and too shaky," Claudine scoffed while sipping a cup of coffee.</p><p>"Exactly, just because they have a good reputation doesn't mean they can treat us like that," Antoinette added.</p><p>"Hey, can both of you just shut up and keep all your complaints by yourself?" Angelique cut into the conversation. "Father had arranged these for us and you can't even be thankful for it."</p><p>"Oh, who's speaking now?" sneered Antoinette. "Since when you care about father? All you did is to make him angry for being too rebel and acting so unladylike."</p><p>"Well, I don't go overdressed like both of you," Angelique smirked. "Your dress looked so big and colourful that everyone thought you are wearing a wedding cake."</p><p>"The hell?! How dare you insult my dress?!" retorted Antoinette hotly. Claudine took her coffee cup and purposely spilt on Angelique's dress with a slight smirk on her red lips.</p><p>"Claudine!! Are you doing this on purpose?!" Angelique yelled with anger.</p><p>"You say that we should not complain, right? When you are about to eat or drink in the carriage and suddenly everything spilt on your beautiful dress, what would you say? Yell at the carriage riders or keeping it by yourself?" Claudine scoffed and she went on to pour another cup of coffee for herself.</p><p>"You win this time, Claudine," muttered Angelique and she stood up from her seat. "Thank you so much for ruining my dress."</p><p>Angelique went off to the bathroom while Claudine and Antoinette laughed over their victory against their youngest sister. Giotto's guardians gaped with shock to see their behaviour despite being the duke's daughter. Asari was the one who looked overly surprised by what he had witnessed.</p><p>"<em>N-nanda yo</em>? Is that a way for the ladies to behave?"</p><p>"Seems to be that way, Asari," Giotto answered. "They tend to act like that when they are not involved with formal events."</p><p>"I don't like the way these two older sisters bullying their youngest sibling. I mean, that's too much. Spilling coffee on her dress that she's wearing for the meeting," muttered G with a slight annoyance on his face.</p><p>"You're not the only one either," added Knuckle. "I just can't believe that they are the duke's daughters. They complain too much about us."</p><p>"Put that aside first. Does Angelique have a spare dress to wear?" Daemon asked. "Don't tell me she's going to wear that coffee-stained dress for that meeting."</p><p>"What are you? Her mother?" asked G with his mocking tone.</p><p>"I'm stating the truth. There is no way you will meet the guest with that dirty dress."</p><p>Alaude was reading his book as usual at one spot where he could stay away from the crowd. He was just waiting for the break time to over before they could continue their journey. Even so, he ended up not focusing on his reading. He was disturbed by the fact that Angelique was going to meet someone that she will marry. He secretly admitted that he had fallen in love with her and yet, he could not show it. That was why he tried to avoid her earlier at her mansion.</p><p>He then noticed Angelique, who was seen sitting on the bench nearby the washroom. She tried her hardest to scrub off the coffee stain on her dress and was deeply frustrated. The skylark placed his book down and walked towards her to see if there was anything he could help.</p><p>"Why are you being so upset?" he asked.</p><p>"You can guess why..." muttered Angelique angrily. "Claudine stained my dress with her damn coffee."</p><p>"Well, don't you have any other spare dresses?"</p><p>"I do have, but I can't wear those."</p><p>"You know that you don't have time to be picky about your outfit."</p><p>Angelique was somewhat snapped and stood up, stared at Alaude with her angry look. "I am not picky! The problem is that those spare dresses I bring along are for normal functions! I would have just worn my favourite attire like I did that night you saved me!"</p><p>"Why don't you just wear whatever you like then?" asked Alaude.</p><p>"Seriously, what's wrong with you?! That's not the way you talk to me like you usually did!" added Angelique with anger.</p><p>"Then, you might have been talking to the wrong person. Excuse me," the skylark answered with a cold tone and walked off from her place.</p><p>Claudine and Antoinette had been very unfair towards her and she just could not believe that Alaude had treated her coldly for a strange reason. Giving up scrubbing off her stained dress, she cried silently, hoping that none of her sisters or anyone to see her like that.</p><p>"Hey, are you crying?"</p><p>She immediately looked up and her teary eyes widened with shock to see Giotto. She started to feel slightly embarrassed and covered her face.</p><p>"D-don't laugh at me- Fine, just laugh."</p><p>"You silly girl. Why I want to laugh at you?"</p><p>"Because I'm crying?"</p><p>Giotto chuckled a little and gently wiped off her tears with his hand. He did notice the coffee stain on her dress and it was going to take a long time to wash it off.</p><p>"You don't need to wash your dress, Angelique," he said and passed a violet ball gown dress to Angelique. "You can wear this instead."</p><p>"H-huh??" Angelique stared at the dress in disbelief. "Giotto, where did you get this dress?"</p><p>"Um, somewhere else," he answered. She sensed that he was hiding something before he continued to talk. "Well, we're going to be late. You need to get dressed quickly before we continue our journey."</p><p>Angelique was sure that she had seen this dress before but she could not remember where she had last seen it. She was sure that it did not belong to Giotto, but someone else. Thinking that she might waste a lot of time, she managed to get herself dressed and joined the others. Giotto's guardians were stunned by her appearance with that violet dress. She could see how jealous her sisters were and secretly smiled for her victorious revenge. At least with a better precaution, Knuckle was told to sit with Angelique and her sisters in the same carriage.</p><p>Everything went well for Angelique during the whole journey.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Confession</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They finally arrived at Anatole's mansion after hours of travelling. The duke of Anatole family greeted his guest warmly and welcomed them into his mansion. Claudine and Antoinette were impressed with the mansion's unique structure as if they were living in the enormous greenhouse. Giotto and his guardians were enjoying looking at the large garden while Angelique followed and was being relatively careful not to make the violet dress dirty. She was still thinking of where she had seen the dress when the duke of Anatole family called out for his three sons.</p><p>The three noblemen appeared from the hallway and bowed at the three sisters before introducing themselves. The duke mentioned that his three sons were slightly older than the three Bravard sisters and he had made a word to the duke of Bravard that he will have his sons to meet up with his good friend's daughters. The two youngest brothers had a friendly talk with Claudine and Antoinette while the oldest one was eyeing at Angelique with interest. Angelique did notice of the way he stared at her and she tried not to look at him.</p><p>"Is there anything wrong, Angelique?" Giotto asked with his concerned look.</p><p>"Nothing, just my strange feelings," answered Angelique with her uncertain tone.</p><p>"You felt rather uneasy about the way he looked at you?"</p><p>"How on earth did you know that??"</p><p>"Your face tells me, I don't need my hidden thoughts to tell me why you feel that way."</p><p>"Uh, I..." Angelique shook her head and tried to change the topic. "The dress you lent it to me, could you please tell me where did you get it? Don't tell me this belongs to you."</p><p>"To answer that question, you might know that it must be coming from my mother's wardrobe," Giotto chuckled. "But, it does not certainly belong to her. This dress was once worn by one of the French royals. It was her favourite dress."</p><p>"French royals? Who was she anyway?" she asked with her confused look</p><p>"I can't tell you. You will need to find out on your own," Giotto answered and patted her shoulder gently. "Let us go in, they are about to call us for tea time."</p><hr/><p>Claudine and Antoinette were too busy to notice their sister's whereabouts as Angelique used this chance to whisk away from them. She roamed around the garden and glancing at the flowers grown around the place. The moment she looked up, she stopped walking and was stunned to see Dion Anatole, the duke's oldest son.</p><p>"Hello there, Angelique," greeted Dion with his deep voice. "What brings you to my family's precious garden?"</p><p>"Nothing much. I just happen to pass by here," answered Angelique as she tried to talk in her friendliest manner.</p><p>"What a coincidence. I happen to walk around and I never knew that I will be meeting you here," he menacingly smiled and slowly walking towards her.</p><p>"I-I never knew that too..." she added and turned away from him. "I'd better get going, I think my sisters are calling out from me-"</p><p>Dion was rather quick and he managed to use his arm to clasp around Angelique's waist. She was frightened by his sudden action and tried to escape from his grasp. He smirked and leaned nearer so that he could mutter in her ear. "Why are you running away from me, Angie? Should I remind you about the promise we made during our childhood years?"</p><p>"W-what promise?" asked Angelique nervously while keeping herself calm. I never remember that such a thing."  </p><p>Dion was rather amused with her reaction and held her tighter, closer to him.</p><p>"It's a promise that you'll marry me when we will get older. Looks like we'll be able to marry soon."</p><p>"I'd never promise to marry you!" she retorted with annoyance. "You bullied me in the past and you forced me to make that stupid childhood promise!"</p><p>"We'll see if this could change your stubborn mind," said Dion and was attempting to place his lips against hers. Angelique struggled as fast as she can to avoid his kiss. She was not going to make it and no one was around to help her.</p><p>"Stop with that such indecent manner, <em>Monsieur </em>Dion Anatole."</p><p>Both Dion and Angelique quickly turned around to see Alaude standing further from them. He was glaring sharply at Dion with his arms crossed. Angelique deeply sighed with relief to see him although her argument with the skylark recently made her feel a little guilty. Dion released her and shot an angry look at him.</p><p>"You have no right to order me what I should not do. You're just an outsider," said Dion with his displeasure tone.</p><p>"And should I remind you that <em>Mademoiselle</em> Angelique is also an outsider of your household. Moreover, if anything happens to her, the Duke of Bravard will not be pleased and you are ruining your father's chance to strengthen ties with her father. Do you wish for that to happen?"</p><p>Dion gritted his teeth with anger and merely walked past Alaude before he entered his mansion. Only left both of them at the spot where they stood and none of them spoke out until she broke the silence.</p><p>"T-thanks for saving my life...again..." muttered Angelique awkwardly. "I'm sorry for having you to see what he was going to do to me."</p><p>"Don't mention it. He should have known that it is not a way to treat a woman, " he answered.</p><p>"As if he knows what he is supposed to do," she sighed with her irritable look. "The Duke of Anatole had been a good friend to my father, so he often came to my mansion for a visit, bringing along his three sons. They were terrible, but Dion was the worst. He would never fail to use me as his punching bag and then he went on to force me to pretend we were husband and wife game. That's when he came up with that stupid promise."</p><p>Alaude was silent while trying not to bring up his uneasy feelings. "Are you going to marry him?"</p><p>"Nonsense!" snapped Angelique. "I will never marry him! And better, not my father chose him for me!"</p><p>"But, what if you don't have a choice?"</p><p>"I'd rather marry you if I had choice-!"</p><p>Angelique immediately covered her mouth with her hands, giving her an alarming look at the skylark. She admitted that she rather marry Alaude over Anatole's oldest son.</p><p>She relatively wished that she had never said that embarrassing confession.</p><p>"P-please tell me that I'm drunk."</p><p>"You didn't even take a sip of wine."</p><p>"I know, but to think that I'd say that," Angelique sighed and looked rather frustrated before she looked up at the glass ceiling of the garden. "Some people around me are jealous of me. Why? Because I'm duke's daughter. I can have anything I want, but that is not I want. My life is being completely under control. And I'm going to be married off to someone I hate the most. Worst, I can't even hate my father for doing this to me."</p><p>Alaude felt guilty for his cold behaviour towards her earlier. He did admit that he was jealous as soon he heard that she was going to marry someone else and later felt slightly relieved when she clearly said that she hated Dion Anatole.</p><p>"I know how you feel, Angelique."</p><p>"Huh?"</p><p>"I was born as a part of a royal family. My relatives were strict and had been trying to teach me lots of things. Unlike them, my mother simply does not want to stress me out. She told me to just be myself, never let anyone control your life."</p><p>The skylark walked towards her and he gently lifted her chin. A small smile was formed on his lips.</p><p>"You choose your future, not anyone else. You have your right to make your own decision. Just remember that, little papillon."</p><p>Angelique's eyes kept on staring at the other's eyes, realising that she did not even blink. She agreed with him, no one can ever control her life. She had her right to decide her future. Not her father, or anyone else. She nodded a little and smiled back to Alaude. He moved his hand away from her chin and took out his pocket watch to see the time.</p><p>"We better return into the mansion. Your sisters might have been searching for you. One more thing."</p><p>"Y-yes?"</p><p>"You can keep that dress. You look stunning this evening."</p><p>She blinked confusedly. She thought that the violet dress belonged to Giotto's mother but he denied it. He had told her to find out on her own. The dress that was once worn by one of the French royals.</p><p>After what Alaude had said to her, it turned out that it was his mother's favourite dress.</p><hr/><p>"You decided to give it to her?"</p><p>"Is there a problem?"</p><p>Alaude frowned a little at the priest's question and sipped a cup of tea. Knuckle, Daemon and even Giotto were smiling slyly at the skylark and this made him more annoyed. The young boss snickered after looking at his reaction, he knew that he was going to do that.</p><p>"You should have just handed that dress to her on your own, not me. She has been thinking that it comes from my mother's wardrobe."</p><p>"What? Is it wrong for me to ask someone's help?"</p><p>"It's not wrong. I just say that you should give it to her instead of me."</p><p>Alaude went silent and continued to sip his tea. Daemon smirked before he spoke out.</p><p>"Primo is right. Perhaps it is because you treated her coldly earlier but you wanted to help her to cover your guilt. So you use someone else to help you out."</p><p>The loud clank somewhat echoed in the guest room. It came from the ceramic saucer and teacup Alaude was holding. Lampo gulped with fear while Asari, Knuckle and G were cautiously looking at the skylark if he ever snapped. Giotto tried to remain calm as he was sensing a war was coming. The Japanese man quickly interrupted, clearing his throat to get everyone's attention.</p><p>"Ah, that reminds me. When are we going to head back to Miss Angelique's house?"</p><p>"By the next two days. How many times I have to tell you all over again?" snapped G with annoyance.</p><p>"<em>Gomenasai</em>, you know how forgetful am I, G-san," Asari smiled apologetically.</p><p>"G is right, we'll be heading back to the Bravard's mansion by next two days. We will certainly be staying here to assist the duke's daughters. If there is anything, I'll just need to inform the duke so that he can know better." Giotto spoke out in his serious tone. He later dismissed their meeting and all his guardians were heading back to their rooms.</p><p>Barely two hours passed, everyone in the mansion had fallen into a deep sleep. Except for the skylark. He only managed to fall asleep after spending one hour reading his book. Despite a deep sleep, he could hear someone was approaching his bed. </p><p>Their presence was rather hostile.</p><p>The unknown figure tried to stab his head with a sharp dagger but failed. Alaude was quicker by grabbing the other's hand tightly and flipped his assailant onto the floor. The assailant groaned with pain and was about to pick up the dagger until the skylark stepped onto the other's wrist to stop them from picking up. He could see that they were wearing a mask and had a green earring at their right earlobe thanks to the moonbeam from the window.</p><p>"Who are you?"</p><p>The masked assailant grunted and refused to talk. He immediately knew it was a man and glared at the other.</p><p>"Why are you trying to kill me?"</p><p>The assailant still refused to answer and was kicking the stool as harsh as he could. Alaude got distracted and the assailant took this chance to escape from his room. When he was going to grab the other's arm, the assailant slightly cut the back of his hand. Ignoring his bleeding hand, the skylark gave a harsh blow at the stomach, causing the other to yelp in pain before escaping from the room. </p><p>Alaude felt more frustrated for not being able to know the identity of his assailant.  </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Crestfallen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was not a pleasant day for Alaude since he found himself waking up in the morning with the wound on his hand. Once he put on the gloves to hide that wound, he dressed up and left his room before his eyes looking at the other guardians who looked like they had a better sleep than he was.</p><p>"I wished I could sleep longer..." said Lampo as he yawned. G shot his glare at the youngest guardian.</p><p>"The hell you would. We have something important to do and you'll get to sleep long after we had done it."</p><p>"Hmm, maybe if I can help you~" Daemon gave a sly smirk and Lampo went to hide behind Knuckle.</p><p>"I'd rather not you to help me!"</p><p>"Cheer up, kid!" Knuckle laughed and patted Lampo's back. "It's morning here and we might as well head to the dining room!"</p><p>"Is everyone here or some still being left out?" Giotto asked them and he soon noticed that the skylark was yawning a little behind Asari's back. "Are you not getting enough sleep, Alaude?"</p><p>"I'm perfectly fine, thank you," the skylark simply answered. Knuckle blinked his eyes several times to notice that he was wearing gloves.</p><p>"Hey, Alaude. Why are you wearing gloves in sudden?"</p><p>"Is it wrong to wear it?"</p><p>"You wear it because it's cold or perhaps you're hurt?" Daemon asked and the skylark shot his annoyed look at the illusionist. Giotto would have known it but he decided to put that issue aside.</p><p>"Alright, everyone is here and we should head to the dining room."</p><p>On the other hand, Angelique was done dressing up in her simple silk dress since there will be no important events happened at the Anatole mansion. She wished that she could return home as fast as possible because she could not stand interacting with Dion even if Alaude was around to help her. He could not often do so as he and the other Vongola guardians' duty was to assist them until they returned home.</p><p>As soon she left her room, her eyes noticed the two shadows at the end of the passageway. She went there to check it out and found herself stopped halfway walking when she already knew who were they. One of her older sisters, Claudine was having a secret conversation with one of the duke's sons before they somewhat became more intimate. Angelique gave a slight dislike look and quickly left them alone before they knew she was there. </p><p>When she had realised that she had forgotten to take something, she walked back to her room until she saw the certain skylark standing in front of her room. With her surprised expression, she came to him with curiosity.</p><p>"Alaude, what are you doing here?"</p><p>"I thought of wanted to see you if you're safe or not."</p><p>"Huh? Why you're asking that in sudden?"</p><p>"It's nothing. It doesn't matter now."</p><p>Angelique was not convinced and she soon noticed that he was wearing the gloves. It was strange to her because the weather seemed to look fine and it was not cold to wear those gloves. She was about to ask when she heard some faint footsteps coming to the area where her room was located. Her face paled when she heard Dion clearing his throat, and she could not let him or anyone else (especially her sisters) knew that she was with Alaude. </p><p>Without hesitation, she quickly dragged him into her room and locked the door to make sure that Dion would not open or barge into her room. Alaude was about to ask her and she quickly closed his mouth to silence him and they soon heard the door knock from outside her room.</p><p>"Good morning, Angelique. Are you awake?" Dion spoke out with his flirtatious tone and Angelique's spine turned cold when he heard him. "Or perhaps do you want me to wake you up~?"</p><p>"No! I can wake up on my own!" she snapped with irritation. She felt like wanted to punch him from outside.</p><p>"Well, I am glad that you are awake. Now, can you please open this door so that we can have a private talk? I would not want anyone else to interrupt our conversation."</p><p>The skylark clenched his fists, his urge to punch Dion was getting higher until Angelique had to tell him to calm down. She gave a quick smile to Alaude to tell that she could try to handle it and then glanced over at the door.</p><p>"And may I remind you that it is very inappropriate for any men to enter the ladies room. Didn't your father teach you that such manners? If my father heard about this, you are so doomed."</p><p>There was silence outside the room and Dion seemed to not satisfied. One of his younger brothers called out for him, saying that the duke wanted to see him urgently. The sound of footsteps soon died away and she let out a sigh of relief. </p><p>All of sudden, Alaude lightly laughed and she turned to him with surprise.</p><p>"What is so funny, Alaude?"</p><p>"Didn't you just say it is very inappropriate for any men to enter ladies room?"</p><p>"I-I didn't mean you!" Angelique's face turned a darker red. "I have no other choice but to bring you inside my room. I don't want him to see us here and he would be telling this to my sisters and my father."</p><p>"I know that, Angelique. I understand."</p><p>"I am going to ask you something. Why are you wearing the gloves.?"</p><p>"You're the second person to ask why I am wearing it."</p><p>"And I want to know why you're wearing it. If you're not telling, I am going to use force to remove them."</p><p>Whether she would do it or not, Alaude had no choice but to remove the gloves from his hands. Angelique's eyes widened a little to see the cut wound at the back of his hand.</p><p>"H-how did you get that wound?"</p><p>"It's not that serious, it'll heal later on. I was being attacked by an unknown man last night. Which is why I am asking if you're safe or not."</p><p>"I see..." she said while feeling a little worried. He read her expression and he gently touched her face while giving a gentle smile to her.</p><p>"At least I am glad that you're safe."</p><p>Their eyes met and Angelique was getting nervous because his face was quite near to hers. She looked like she had not prepared for this though she admitted that she had fallen in love with the skylark. Until their nose touched each other and they were about to kiss, someone was knocking the door rather loudly. Both of them flinched and they quickly moved away before they heard a playful voice from outside.</p><p>"Hey, I know both of you are inside and having a nice moment at there but we need to get down for a breakfast~" Giotto spoke out with a smirk on his lips.</p><p>"I'm going to murder him tonight," Alaude muttered angrily as he stood up.</p><p>"B-but Giotto's your boss..."</p><p>"He's not my boss and I don't follow anyone."</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <b>Three days later after returning from the Anatole mansion...</b>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>Claudine and Antoinette were having a pleasant conversation with their father during tea time. Angelique was there as well by force because her father wanted to know her opinions about Dion Anatole. He went on to tell his whole history of how he had been friends with the Duke of Anatole and how much he had helped him during the crisis he went through. He even mentioned that his daughters and his friend's sons were so close when they were children.</p><p>"He was a charming man, father. I could not remember much of my childhood but he seemed to care so much about me," said Claudine with her dreamy eyes. Angelique rolled her eyes with disgust because she had seen even more than what Claudine said.</p><p>"Mine is not that bad. He loves to cook and I see that he has a great talent," Antoinette added as she thought of her future husband. The Duke of Bravard chuckled after hearing his daughters' stories.</p><p>"It looks like both of you are so keen with those two youngest sons of my good friend. I would be happy if both of them will marry both of you."</p><p>"We certainly are happy about it, father!" Claudine and Antoinette said together with a bright smile on their face.</p><p>"That should do it. I just do not want any of you made the same mistake as Guillaume did. Marrying off with the common girl with no status-"</p><p>"But he's happy with it, father," Angelique spoke out in sudden and the three of them went silent. She placed the teacup on the table and looked at them. "How can father be sure that we will be happy as long as we marry someone equal to us?"</p><p>"Hey, Angelique. This is not the perfect time to talk about this." Antoinette hissed quickly but she ignored it.</p><p>"Lilia did not do anything wrong and Guillaume did not care about her poor background. They were very happy to be together and father ruined everything. Because of father, Lilia took her own life to protect Guillaume's family bond."</p><p>"Angelique, that's enough!!" Claudine yelled at her youngest sister and was about to slap her before their father could stop her. He was starting to get enraged but tried not to lose temper in front of them. He shot a dissatisfied look at Angelique.</p><p>"Miss Lilia did the right thing and she perfectly knew that she does not fit to be in the Bravard family. She left the suicide note and that should be clear enough."</p><p>Angelique gritted her teeth with anger. How could he say something bad about Guillaume and Lilia?</p><p>"And what about the story between you and Dion? I'm sure that a good man like him will be a perfect husband for you. Every young woman had just wished that Dion would marry any of them. Should you be lucky?"</p><p>"Lucky??" Angelique snapped. "He's the worst person I've ever met in this world!"</p><p>"What do you mean by worst??" the duke asked furiously.</p><p>"Worst of all, of course! Father sees him as a good boy, but in fact, father did not know what he was doing behind people's back!"</p><p>"Wait a second. You're not telling me that...you're still thinking of that blonde-haired brat??"</p><p>"What if I did?"</p><p>"I forbid you to marry that man, young lady! Don't you ever dare! I am the one who will decide whom all of you to marry who!"</p><p>"This is why I hate about being a royal family!!" Angelique yelled back and ran back to the mansion.</p><p>She was so angry that she could have just run away from the mansion. She hated it when her father kept badmouthing about Guillaume's former lover and now had forbidden her to marry someone she loves.</p><p>Sometime later, Angelique went around the large garden to look for Philippe. It had been quite a long time she had not spoken to him. She soon found him and was about to call out for him when she saw him burning something on the floor. She saw a familiar violet fabric burning fiercely and she froze.</p><p>"Phil, what are you burning?"</p><p>The young gardener flinched and turned to look at her with his horrified look on his face. The rod he was holding was shaking.</p><p>"I-I really...don't want...to do it..."</p><p>"Phil, tell me what's that thing you're burning."</p><p>"I-I'm sorry..."</p><p>Without waiting for his explanation, she pushed him away and her eyes widened in shock. The violet dress was burning and it was almost turned into ashes. Angelique took the pail of water and threw it to put out the fire but it was already too late. The only thing left was a small portion of violet lace from the burnt dress. Her shaken hand slowly picking up the lace and almost cried. Philippe's face was filled with guilt and that was when both of them heard a cackling laugh from Claudine.</p><p>"You make father so angry and ruined his mood. So, I decided to have this precious gift of yours burnt down as a punishment."</p><p>"Claudine, you evil hag..." Angelique hissed furiously.</p><p>"Don't blame me, my dearest sister. Blame yourself," Claudine scoffed, she ignored Angelique's anger and eventually left the garden.</p><p>This was the first time that Angelique felt so angry in her whole life. So angry that she wished that she was not born into the Bravard family.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Search</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Claudine's outrageous act of burning Angelique's treasured dress given by Alaude made the youngest daughter of Bravard family felt nothing but sad, depressed and angry. It was the only gift she loved the most and it had been destroyed in front of her eyes. It was not Philippe's fault but she still refused to speak to him for days. She even refused to have some meals after being told many times to take some. Only Guillaume could persuade her to have some and she only did it for him. Her brother seemed to not happy with what Claudine had done but he decided not to make things worse. Fighting will not bring back Angelique's treasured dress after all. If he was there earlier, he could have prevented it.</p><p>He was at the living hall and was sipping his cup of tea all by himself. When he heard his father was coming to join him, Guillaume disliked it but he refrained from showing that look. The Duke of Bravard family sat the opposite of his oldest son and took a sip of his tea too.</p><p>"We finally had a tea time together, is it that great?" the Duke spoke out and tried to be friendly to his son.</p><p>"I have been busy. It's a coincidence that I am quite free today," Guillaume did not show any expression and placed his teacup on the table.</p><p>"The royalty work, as I can guess?" the duke asked and placed his teacup as well. "Well, you could have look for a young woman to marry off instead."</p><p>"Let us make this clear, father. I will not marry any other woman aside from Lilia. I cannot guarantee the slight happiness of marrying with those who had the same rank as us."</p><p>"Didn't you see how happy Christine was after she got married to one of the royals?"</p><p>"She is lucky that it was the man she truly loved. Does the incident of almost disowning your child had made you realise that it was the biggest mistake you almost committed? The royal families will talk about it and you will not like it if the Bravard's name had been tarnished."</p><p>The duke went silent and refused to look at Guillaume for a moment.</p><p>"Anyway, did father tell Claudine to burn Angelique's favourite dress?"</p><p>"Why should I tell her to do that?"</p><p>"Because Angelique made you angry back then, so Claudine wanted to punish her for treating you so badly."</p><p>"I know how rebellious Angelique is, but I would never going to do things that made her extremely upset."</p><p>"Then why you are not allowing her to meet or talk to Alaude? You do know that he's also a part of the royalty since you've always wanted to marry off all my sisters to those kinds of people."</p><p>"I have my reasons and I forbid you to talk about that young man!"</p><p>"And I am not that stupid enough to know why you hated him so much," Guillaume stood up from his seat and turned away. "By the way, Elena had been wanting to see Angelique. So, Daemon will be coming to pick her up by tomorrow."</p><p>"Daemon Spade? That one of the famous aristocrat from Italy?" the duke's face was quite brightened and Guillaume knew what his father was thinking.</p><p>"Yes, he is. I suggest you forget about marrying Angelique off to that man. He is already with Elena anyway."</p><hr/><p>The very next day, Angelique had been prepared and was on her way to the main gate of her mansion. She knew that Philippe was gardening at the corner of the garden but she did not call out for him. She felt really bad for treating him coldly but she could not help it. Even if she knew that he did it under her sister's orders and he could not defy her. Soon after, the horse-drawn carriage arrived in front of her mansion and she could see Daemon came out to pick her up.</p><p>"Why is that sullen face of yours, Angelique?" asked Daemon politely with a small smile.</p><p>"I-I am not in a good mood, that is all," she answered.</p><p>"I see," the aristocrat gently touched her hair to soothe her feelings. "But I bet that you will be fine after you meet up with Elena soon enough."</p><p>Angelique gave a small smile to him before she got into the carriage, sitting the opposite of Daemon. The journey to where Elena would meet her was not too far from where Angelique lived but it would take roughly about fifteen minutes to reach there. She was silent for the whole journey but she could not help herself to ask Daemon about Alaude since they both were in the same league with Giotto. She kept on deciding whether she should ask him or not and that was when Daemon noticed her strange behaviour.</p><p>"What is the matter, Angelique? Is there anything you want to ask?"</p><p>"I..." she stuttered and was not going to talk in her normal way because the carriage was a little shaky as it moved. She sighed and stared at Daemon with her bravery gaze. "I-I just wanted to know if Alaude is doing fine or not."</p><p>The aristocrat's eyes blinked with surprise before he chuckled at her question. Angelique's face slowly turned red as if she knew why he was laughing.</p><p>"My, my, you surely miss that lone skylark, don't you?" Daemon was still laughing before he stopped himself and his lips turned into a playful grin. "He is perfectly fine, Angelique. Though he is truly the busiest man compared to any of us."</p><p>"Busy? With his work?"</p><p>"Of course. Since he is the head of the secret intelligence agency. Not forget to mention that he often travels to get his job done," he answered. "Speaking of that, how did both of you meet each other in the first place?"</p><p>Angelique then started to recollect her memories before she tells the whole story about their first meeting. From being chased by the gangsters after saving someone's life and then got herself saved by Alaude who happened to pass by the place where she was. She even mentioned that she had forgotten to ask for his name because she quickly walked away from him due to her shyness.</p><p>"So, that is how you met him," Daemon leaned back in his seat. "It is hard to tell what he was thinking because he does not show any expressions on his face. However, there was once I caught him staring at the butterfly necklace while wondering when he will get to meet you once again."</p><p>"Butterfly necklace?" Angelique's face blushed darker. "I've dropped it somewhere and...he returned it to me during Elena's birthday."</p><p>They talked further and Daemon was almost reaching the topic about why Angelique held a sullen face earlier when they finally arrived at their destination. The illusionist aristocrat came out from the carriage and brought Angelique out as well to the lake garden. The lake garden was a popular spot for every woman from noble families to spend their pleasant time talking with their friends or family members. Usually, Angelique would avoid coming to this place but since Elena had wanted to see her, she made it as an exception. As soon they entered, Elena came to them with her rushed look. She looked like she had lost something.</p><p>"Daemon, Angelique...thank goodness you've come..." Elena panted.</p><p>"What is the matter, Elena?" asked Daemon with his worried look.</p><p>"I am supposed to look after Marionette's pet cat but it had gone missing when I am about to find them."</p><p>"Marionette's pet cat?" Angelique's eyes blinked with curiosity.</p><p>"Yes, her pet cat," Elena repeated and she started to describe it. "That cat's name is Benedict and it has grey fluffy fur. It is just about this big, so it should be somewhere."</p><p>"Benedict," Daemon hummed. "That cat is rather troublesome. Moreover, most of the rocks in this garden are grey as well."</p><p>"You mean, we have to search each of the rocks and catch one of it??" Angelique gaped with shock.</p><p>"I did try that but Benedict is not at those rocks. Where could it be?" Elena mumbled with disappointment. The illusionist noticed her expression as he quickly came to her with concern.</p><p>"Don't worry about it, Elena. We'll search that cat once again. It won't run away without its master."</p><p>Elena nodded and smiled at the aristocrat. Angelique was a little happy to see how loving they were and had just wished if she and Alaude would be like them. Without wasting more time, the three of them split up to look for the grey cat. Angelique was rather fond of cats and had always wanted to have one as her pet. However, she was not allowed to have one because her father would sneeze over the cat's fur. She only could play with them outside her mansion with Philippe. </p><p>She let a deep sigh when she thought of her friend. He must have been really sad after she had been ignoring for a long time over her burnt dress. She had made up her mind and decided to forgive him as soon she headed back to her mansion. She admitted that she had been a little lonely when she refused to speak to him.</p><p>Angelique panted, realising that she had been walking for quite long while looking for the grey cat. She would not complain, she got used to walking more than her two older sisters, who strongly wanted to remain ladylike like a proper young woman. She did not care how everyone at the garden looked at how she behaved. She even crouched down in front of the thick bushes if in case the cat was hiding there. She moved the bushes away and almost screamed with a victory over what she was looking at.</p><p>Benedict was seen licking its paw on its back facing Angelique's face.</p><p>She was about to pounce on that cat when it turned its head sharply at her and glared with its ice-blue eyes. Angelique froze and gave a nervous smile. One mistake and she would earn herself a painful scratch from Benedict. Somehow, that glare from its eyes was similar to Alaude's eyes. She was surprised when she thought of it and the only option left was to talk to the cat.</p><p>"H-hello there, Benedict," Angelique gave the best, friendly smile she had. "I am here to...to bring you back to your master, your owner. She must have been looking for you, so...want me to bring you back to her?"</p><p>The grey cat was still glaring at her and she tried to talk again.</p><p>"I-I am Marionette's friend and also Elena's friend. I am here to fetch you to them."</p><p>Angelique's hands were still open for the cat to come to her. It was a long wait until Benedict finally walked towards her, allowing her to carry in her arms. She smiled and slowly stood up for crouching too long at the bushes. She gently stroked its fur and it seemed to enjoy her touch. She just needed to return to Elena and Daemon and telling them that she had found Benedict. As she walked, her eyes caught sight at someone sitting under the large tree.</p><p>There was no mistake. She saw Alaude reading a book, all by himself under the large tree.</p><p>Her cheeks turned red and she eventually walked to his spot while carrying the grey cat in her arms. The skylark was not looking at who was coming and his cold voice escaped from his lips.</p><p>"I thought I have told you to leave me alone."</p><p>Angelique stopped in her tracks and was stunned at his words. Did he just mean it? But she had just met him. </p><p>"It's me, Alaude."</p><p>He even stopped reading and quickly looked up at Angelique. He felt like an idiot for saying such a thing to her and slowly turned away from her.</p><p>"Sorry, I thought you're one of those women who tried to bother me earlier," he mumbled.</p><p>"Is that so?" Angelique gave a monotone voice.</p><p>"Look, I didn't mean to...I'm sorry..." Alaude once again looked up at her and was quite surprised that she gave a smile to him.</p><p>"I am not mad. You didn't mean to," Angelique answered. "I thought you're busy with your work. Daemon told me about you."</p><p>"I have just settled and I am now taking a break for myself," Alaude answered and he soon realised that she was carrying a grey cat in her arms. He blinked and was astonished. "Why are you carrying Benedict along?"</p><p>"Huh?" she looked down at the grey cat. "Oh, Elena said that this cat went missing and we're looking for it. Wait, how did you know this cat's name?"</p><p>"How did I know? That cat belongs to me."</p><p>"What? Your cat? But, Elena said it belongs to Marionette."</p><p>"Marionette? You are referring to my mother, aren't you?"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Marionette</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Angelique had been thinking that someone named Marionette was probably Elena's friend but what she did not expect that she turned out to be Alaude's mother. She was still in shock without realising that the grey cat was struggling in her arms to return to its owner. The blonde skylark reached out his hands to take Benedict back to his arms and stared at Angelique curiously.</p><p>"Is there something wrong, Angelique?"</p><p>"I-I didn't know," she sighed. "I thought Marionette was Elena's friend and we've been walking around just to look for Benedict. But the moment you've said that she's your mother, I'm surprised."</p><p>"My mother often comes here whenever she has free time. That should explain why Benedict is here as well," added Alaude. "Have you ever met her before?"</p><p>"No, Daemon and I just arrived here until Elena got so worried about the missing cat."</p><p>Benedict made a sharp hissing sound when Angelique mentioned Daemon's name. She blinked at its behaviour and Alaude began stroking its fluffy head to calm itself down.</p><p>"Sorry, I forgot to mention that Benedict had a slight dislike towards that illusionist aristocrat."</p><p>"Why? I didn't see him as a bad person."</p><p>"I don't know unless Benedict was still holding a grudge against him for frightening it with his magic tricks."</p><p>"Seriously?" Angelique laughed a little. "Poor Benedict, it's lucky that I've found it before Daemon does or he'll earn a cat scratch as a gift."</p><p>"I am waiting for that moment to happen, to be honest."</p><p>She raised her eyebrow at Alaude's comment and they were soon greeted by the presence of the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. That woman was in her mid-40's and had a long blonde hair, matching her sparkling blue eyes. She was wearing a light yellow evening dress gown that matched her fair skin. The rumours were true. This woman was every men's dream to marry.</p><p>The grey cat was making a loud meowing voice at that woman and she gave the sweetest smile before she started to talk.</p><p>"There you are, Benedict. You always made Elena worried about you," she held out her hand and touched its head softly before she lifted her head to see the blonde skylark. "How are you doing, Alaude?"</p><p>"I am doing fine, mother," he replied with his most polite accent. Angelique's eyes widened in shock. She could not believe that this stunning woman turned out to be his mother. That must have been Marionette, she deeply thought. The blonde woman caressed her son's cheek and gave a loving smile.</p><p>"I know you have been busy, so I am really happy to see you here," said Marionette before her eyes turned to look at Angelique. "Hello, my dear. Are you a friend of Alaude?"</p><p>"Uh..." Angelique was almost speechless when she found out that Marionette was talking to her. She quickly curtsy to the blonde woman with respect and gave her a friendly smile. "Y-yes, my name is Angelique Bravard."</p><p>"Nice to meet you, Angelique. Your name suits you well. Perhaps it was your father had given you that name, right?"</p><p>"H-How did you know that, madame?"</p><p>"Just a lucky guess," Marionette winked at her. "I've heard from my son that he had given you that violet dress of mine as a gift. Do you like it?"</p><p>It felt like a disaster had just happened. The moment when Claudine had ordered Philippe to burn that violet dress as a punishment for making her father angry had come to her mind. As she was currently facing Alaude and Marionette, she began to feel sad and guilty, lowering her head at the same time. The blonde skylark had noticed the sudden change of her face and was about to ask her until Marionette stopped him from doing so.</p><p>"I'm sorry. Could you go and join Elena and Daemon for a moment? I think they might still looking for Benedict and you will need to tell them that you've found it."</p><p>"But, mother-"</p><p>"It's alright. I would love to have a nice talk with this lovely young lady," Marionette shot a playful smirk at him. "You certainly like her, do you?"</p><p>Alaude's ears turned pink, looking a little embarrassed. He bowed and walked away from his mother and Angelique, bringing Benedict along to see Elena and Daemon. Marionette meanwhile walked towards Angelique and held both of her hands, which made the other blinked with surprise. The blonde woman gently tucked Angelique's hair locks behind her ear and held a concerned look at the younger.</p><p>"Why you look so sad, dear?"</p><p>"I-I'm sorry...please, forgive me..." said Angelique with her strained voice.</p><p>"Why of all this sudden? You didn't do anything wrong to me."</p><p>"I-It's about your violet dress."</p><p>"My violet dress?"</p><p>"During my trip to the Anatole family's mansion, Claudine messed up my dress and I do not have any spare dresses to wear for that formal meeting. So, Giotto lent me that violet dress for me to wear. Until the last moment, I found out that Alaude was the one giving me that dress as a gift. He once told me that it was your favourite dress. I treasured it so much but in the end..."</p><p>"In the end?"</p><p>"I made my father angry back then, so Claudine wanted to punish me by burning that dress off."</p><p>Marionette gave a small gasp after hearing about the incident. Angelique felt even guiltier and tried to turn away from looking at the blonde woman. She waited for the other's reaction, figuring that Marionette might be furious for what she had done to her treasured dress. Nothing happened but she still waited. Since Angelique's face was facing the greener grass of the lake garden, she then saw a pair of feet coming towards her. Marionette gently embraced her as if she was her daughter before she spoke out.</p><p>"All this time, you've been feeling so sullen because of that? I did not know why you made your father angry but the act of burning something that belongs to you is not tolerable."</p><p>"It was once your favourite dress, madame! How could I face you for this??"</p><p>"You silly girl," Marionette lightly pinched her nose. "I am not like other women who would enrage for their damaged property. I will never blame you for that. Besides, you have worn it once before it was gone forever. I bet my son had seen how beautiful you were in that dress."</p><p>Angelique's face turned red and smiled to herself, remembering the moment when he said that she looked so stunning with that dress he had given to her.</p><p>She was going to apologise to Philippe and forgive him later on.</p><hr/><p>Until the late evening, Elena, Daemon and Angelique had left the lake garden and that only left Marionette with her son and his pet cat. Benedict was sleeping near the bushes and Alaude would not have to worry about it as he went to accompany his mother who was standing nearby under the large tree.</p><p>"Angelique is a good girl. I know she had a bad relationship with her father but they used to love each other, as a father and a child. Things had changed, of course."</p><p>"Ever since her brother had chosen to marry a common girl, her father is extremely strict about marriage. She hates it. I have been wondering why her father hates me so much."</p><p>"The Duke of Bravard used to be your father's good friend. As far I know, the Duke of Bravard place his royalty status above everything. His pride is his status. He wants to be respected like other royals so that he can feel superior. When it was the time for him to build a family, he was desperately looking for a woman to marry. Once he heard about me, he tried everything to make me fell in love with him. In the end, I chose your father over him. He was so angry, accusing that your father had back-stabbed him and thus, breaking off their friendship. That should be the reason why the Duke of Bravard had that such hatred feeling towards you. Especially that you almost have your father's looks."</p><p>"No wonder he gives his dark look at me."</p><p>"I may think he is being too immature. He should not involve both you and his daughter in his conflict."</p><p>They both went silent for a while and Marionette was the first to talk.</p><p>"Do not give up on her, Alaude."</p><p>"What are you talking about, mother?"</p><p>"I know you have feelings for her, so you cannot simply hide it with that emotionless face of yours," Marionette shot a smirk at him. "Knuckle had told me everything about both you and Angelique. Looks like I would get to see my future daughter-in-law."</p><p>"He's talking nonsense."</p><p>"No. Priest will never tell a lie, Alaude. It is a sin."</p><p>The blonde skylark gave a defeated sigh, admitting that Marionette knew about his feelings towards Angelique. It would be hard and he took his mother's advice. He would not give up on her and he knew that she needed him to be at her side.</p><p>A little butterfly that was waiting for the time to free itself from the locked cage.</p><hr/><p>"Well, well. Look who is in a good mood," Daemon sneered at Angelique. They were both on the way back to the Bravard mansion after sending Elena back to her relative's house.</p><p>"Are you the one who planned all these so that I could meet Alaude?" she eyed at the illusionist curiously.</p><p>"Elena and I heard from your brother about what Claudine had done to you. Plus, you've quarrelled with your father about the arranged marriage stuff. We figured that you would be happy to see him but we did not expect that his mother would present at that place."</p><p>"I did meet her. I even apologised to her about her dress."</p><p>"What do you think about Marionette?"</p><p>"Philippe once told me that Alaude's mother was the daughter of the most well-known aristocrat from France. Many men wanted to marry her. She is so kind and perfect looking, even after she had gotten married and had a grown-up son. She is also forgiving, sometimes she reminded me of my other older sister, Christine."</p><p>Not long after that, the carriage they were sitting had reached the Bravard's mansion. Angelique stepped down and turned to look at Daemon with a small smile on her lips. He smiled back as well before he went on to give some advice to her.</p><p>"Angelique, you must not tell this to your family members about your meeting with that lone skylark and his mother. Guillaume and Philippe are the exceptions. You know your father might get angry if you mention his name or about his mother."</p><p>"I won't. Thanks for reminding me, Daemon."</p><p>"You can always keep in touch with Elena, or perhaps Primo if you want to know more about your crush," the illusionist smirked and Angelique gave a small pout.</p><p>"Just go home already. Are you going back to Sicily?"</p><p>"Yes, indeed. There is something I need to get it done."</p><p>"Alright. Send my regards to Giotto and others, will you?"</p><p>"I will, Angelique."</p><p>She stood nearby the gate of her mansion and watched the horse carriage left to the next destination. She felt much better after the visit and somewhat noticed that her servants came to fetch her back to her room. She told them that she will walk back on her own as she wanted to go to the large garden to see Philippe.</p><hr/><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span class="u">In a church somewhere in South Italy...</span>
    </em>
  </b>
</p><p>The mass had just ended and most of the people who attended the church were already leaving back to their home. Knuckle was done with his job as well and was prepared to go to Sicily as well. He turned off all the lights in the church and the place itself had become pitch dark. The former boxer was making sure that everything was in the correct order until he got himself frightened with a certain dark figure sitting on the bench.</p><p>"Do you need to be that frightened, Knuckle?" asked Alaude with a slight frown on his face.</p><p>"Gosh, it's you!" the priest gave a huge sigh. "You would have just called out to me instead of staying silent at there! And not forget to mention that your clothes are as dark as the church inside."</p><p>"My hair is not that dark."</p><p>"Right. Why are you here anyway? Going to Sicily with me to meet up with Primo?"</p><p>"I want to confirm something before we go there."</p><p>"What is it then?"</p><p>"How many wedding vows have taken place in this church within the past few weeks?"</p><p>"Huh? Why is this all sudden?"</p><p>"I'm being serious here, Knuckle. How many of them?"</p><p>Knuckle saw that sharp glint in Alaude's eyes and he knew there must be a reason why he would ever ask about that such question. He blinked hard to recollect his memories before he answered.</p><p>"Not many wedding ceremonies were taking place in this church. If you can say recently, I daresay it's about two."</p><p>"Did you remember those newlyweds' names and the number of people who attended their wedding?"</p><p>"Oh, those two wedding ceremonies were private. Not even one guest. I can't remember the grooms' names but the brides' name...I think it's Alina and Isabella."</p><p>"Alina and Isabella. So they were the victims as well."</p><p>"Victims? What happened to them??"</p><p>"You don't need to know-"</p><p>"Hey, I deserved to know since I cracked my brain to the ultimate level to remember their names!" said the priest with his annoyed tone. Alaude sighed a little and looking up at the other.</p><p>"Both of the brides were found murdered a day after their marriage. Not only them. I even investigated the same case in France and over a lot of churches I've visited, there was one with three wedding vows taken place there, privately. Three brides from those private wedding ceremonies were found murdered after the ceremony. The killer was still not found and the local police could not understand this whole mystery."</p><p>"Why are you thinking that those deceased brides from France and Italy are connected?"</p><p>Alaude held out one of his hand to show the scar of the knife wound where he got it from his assailant at the Anatole mansion last month.</p><p>"I was attacked by an unknown man during the visit to the Anatole mansion. This scar is the same as the one that left at those brides' hands."</p><p>"What?? But you're a man, and you're not even married yet! Why he wanted to attack you??"</p><p>The blonde skylark was silent and he grew a little worried if the assailant or possibly the killer would harm Angelique. He gripped his hand tightly before he answered.</p><p>"Probably because he knows that I am going to catch him."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Insecurity</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Angelique had managed to talk to Philippe once again and had never been blaming him for that incident. She apologised to him for treating him coldly. She told him everything about her meeting with Alaude and Marionette. Her parents and her other two sisters were currently busy with an important social gathering. </p><p>The youngest child of Bravard family would refuse to go, so the duke was unnaturally kind enough to let her stay at home while they were away. Angelique felt excited and she could at least do whatever she liked. She just needed to look for Philippe for a talk until she remembered that he had a date with his long-term girlfriend.</p><p>She felt even more bored as she returned to her room. She was only allowed to stay at home but not wandering around the town all by herself. </p><p>As her father said, people would talk.</p><p>"Ughh!"</p><p>Her frustrated tone came from her throat and she slumped over on her bed. Her life was completely dull and had wished that she could go on an adventure. Walking outside the town with Philippe while disguising herself as a boy was not enough because of her father's security. All she wanted was to freely do whatever she wants, without being criticised by the noble people around. </p><p>She thought of a vigilante group led by Giotto. She recently heard from Daemon that he would be returning to Sicily for some sort of mission. It sounded dangerous but she wondered if she could join them. Protecting the people when the laws could not do so.</p><p>Those members she knew so far were G, Asari Ugetsu, Lampo, Knuckle, Daemon and Alaude. Elena was a part of them because she was Giotto's friend and Daemon's lover.</p><p>"If I am not born as a part of royalty, I would have just joined them in the first place."</p><p>It was an unfulfilled wish she made and she sighed. She soon heard a knocking sound at the door and she called out for someone to come in. It was her family's butler named Gwenael, Philippe's father. His face held a worried look aside from his usual seriousness.</p><p>"Milady, I wish to seek for your help."</p><p>"What happened, Gwenael?" Angelique asked with her puzzled look.</p><p>"It is about my son, Philippe. He refused to have meals with us, the servants. He locked himself up in his room after he returned last night and I have been hearing him crying from inside. He did not tell me anything that made him go into that such state."</p><p>"Philippe is crying? What could have happened to him?" she exclaimed with shock.</p><p>"I am not so sure, milady. Perhaps he will talk if milady asks him instead."</p><p>She jumped out from her bed and dashed out from her room, running straight to the small dormitory room where all the household servants stayed. She reached and knocked Philippe's door room several times but there was no response. She knocked it much louder and later gave a sharp threatening tone to him.</p><p>"If you're not opening this door, I am going to chop down your door with an axe!!"</p><p>She heard faint footsteps coming and the door slowly opened, revealing Philippe with his pale, swollen eyes. Angelique almost yelped with shock to see his condition and she was worried as Gwenael did.</p><p>"Is there anything I can do for you, Angie?" Philippe asked with his sore tone.</p><p>"Oh yes, there is something you can do for me," she pointed her finger at him. "You will need to start talking about what happened last night after you have your proper meals."</p><p>"B-but, I'm not hungry-"</p><p>"This is an order, Phil. Eat first. Then, we'll talk," Angelique gave her stern look at him and despite being a good friend, Philippe would not defy her orders. The order from the duke's daughter.</p><p>He had no appetite but he could at least ate some to regain some energy while Angelique was waiting for him to finish up his meal. Not long after that, the other servants cleared up the dishes and leaving only a jug of water and two glasses for both of them to drink. Gwenael told the other servants to take over Philippe's duty for a moment to let his son talked with Angelique.</p><p>"I know that you've been on a date with your girlfriend last night, so I didn't approach you until Gwenael told me about you. What makes you cry so horribly?"</p><p>Philippe's swollen eyes were quite sore and trying not to blink too much to avoid the pain. He took a deep breath before he started to explain.</p><p>"I was excited about last night's date. Danielle and I had been together for so long and we often been going out on our date many times. Last night was rather important. Everything went well. We talked more and she even mentioned that she had inherited her late father's will. I was so certain that we were ready to marry since I have enough money to build a new life with her."</p><p>"You're going to marry Danielle?? That's great! No wonder you're crying with joy. Or rather not."</p><p>"You got that right, Angie. The world had turned upside down."</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"I was about to propose her when she suddenly said that she wanted to break up with me. I was deeply shocked and I wondered if she was joking or not. She was so serious about it, saying that she could not stand rumours about me hanging out with the duke's daughter. While I was working, she had been hanging out with another man without my knowledge."</p><p>"W-what the? Danielle knows about us and she understands well! And she went to look for another man? How could she do that??"</p><p>"She did understand. It just that the people would not stop talking, making her feeling rather insecure about our relationship. She said that I did not do anything wrong. She blamed herself. And...she even said that she could not help falling in love with that man. Six years we had been together, it was wasted just like that. I was so angry...and disappointed. It gave me a hard time."</p><p>Angelique frowned and was rather angry with Danielle's actions and decisions. She knew her very well and was disbelief to hear that she had completely changed. Philippe was so loyal to her and it was truly breaking his heart. She felt so sorry for him and was thinking if she could do anything to cheer him up and made him forget about that woman.</p><p>All of a sudden, worry began to come into her heart. What if she was in Philippe's place? She had this horrible feeling.</p><p>What if Alaude had fallen for another woman aside from herself?</p><p>Was it ever true that he did have feelings towards her?</p><hr/><p>Months had passed and Philippe had recovered from his emotional wreck. He slowly forgetting his former girlfriend and was seen more focused on his work. Angelique was happy to see him back to his old self and once again had been planning to sneak out from her mansion. Her parents and her two sisters were staying at another town for a few days to attend some sort of a royalty ceremony. </p><p>Gwenael owed her for helping his son and he let her off to the town with Philippe with the condition that she must return home in time. She thanked her butler and under her disguise as a boy, she went around the town accompanied by Philippe.</p><p>After a long walk, Angelique and Philippe were standing nearby the bridge to look at the night sky. She gazed at the stars for a long time until Philippe noticed how quiet she was.</p><p>"Angie? Are you alright?"</p><p>"Huh? Oh, of course, I'm fine."</p><p>"You're so quiet. Are you thinking of something?"</p><p>"N-nothing, it's just," Angelique sighed. "When I heard about your break up news with Danielle, I suddenly thought of Alaude."</p><p>"Say what?"</p><p>"I keep on wondering...if both of us are in the same situation as you are."</p><p>"You're overthinking, Angie. There's no way your relationship with him can just snap into half like that"</p><p>"How can you be sure about it? I mean, look. He's been busy with his investigation works and had been going on secret missions with Giotto and others. We rarely met and something like that could happen. What if he met someone else other than me?"</p><p>"Oh, Lord," Philippe sighed and he pinched her cheek with his disapproved look. "If you miss him so much and suddenly came up with this kind of unnecessary situation, why don't you just go and look for him, and ask him about his feelings towards you? You could have asked Elena or Daemon to help you rather than keeping everything by yourself."</p><p>"Easier said than done. What if my father knows about it?"</p><p>"Angie, do you want to be free and happy or stay locked and get yourself depressed?"</p><p>"I..."</p><p>"Just go and ask Alaude. That is the answer you're looking for."</p><p>She turned to look at Philippe and she noticed two people standing at the bridge, further away from where she and Philippe stood. Her heart went cold as ice, feeling uneasy. One of them was Dion Anatole, the one who forced her to make a promise to marry him when they were little. She quickly grabbed Philippe's arm and dragged him away.</p><p>"H-hey, what happened-"</p><p>"Don't talk. Let us go home now. Hurry."</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>"Don't let him see me-"</p><p>"Excuse me, young man!" Dion called out for both of them and Angelique froze with fear.</p><p>If he came near, he might have recognised her with the boyish outfit she was wearing.</p><p>She let go of Philippe's arms and quickly ran away from the bridge. Philippe was surprised but he tried not to chase her down.</p><p>Angelique kept on running at the streets, fearing that Dion might have caught up with her. She was afraid that if he saw her, he will report it to her father. Things will get worse than she could imagine. While her mind was running wild, she accidentally bumped into someone so hard that she fell onto them.</p><p>"S-sorry!" she squeaked and hastily looking down at the person she fell onto. It was none other than Alaude, who was grunting with pain after the fall.</p><p>"You could have just look where are you going..." he mumbled and somewhat surprised to see her with that familiar outfit she was wearing. "Angelique, what are you doing here?"</p><p>She was surprised by his presence but she had no time to talk to him. She quickly stood up and continued to run. Alaude was puzzled and he chased her down as well until they both reached the dark alleyway. He was quick to grab her arm before he could lose her.</p><p>"Let me off! He's going to find me!"</p><p>"Who are you running away from?"</p><p>"It's Dion! He sees me and he might have been looking for me!"</p><p>"There's no one chasing you-"</p><p>"He is!"</p><p>Angelique was distressed and she wanted to run back home as fast as possible. They heard faint footsteps coming to the alleyway. Alaude did not think twice and grabbed her at another spot to hide. He found a small abandoned storeroom and they both hid inside. He glanced around to look at the possible stranger and as what Angelique had assumed, it was Dion Anatole who was wandering around the alleyway. </p><p>The sly smirk that formed on his lips made him think that he could have seen her around. He probably had mistaken for someone and left the alleyway. They both sighed with relief and the blonde skylark was giving her a stern look.</p><p>"Why are you here this night? You really should not be wandering off already especially when that man is around."</p><p>"It's not like I would go out so often! I didn't know he's here, I would be doomed if he knows who am I!"</p><p>"Well, there's no way you could walk on your own," Alaude stood up and he pulled her arm to made her stand up. "I'm going to send you home right now-"</p><p>"You can't do that! Father is going to be angry if he sees you!"</p><p>"And he would be much angrier if that Anatole told him about you."</p><p>Angelique struggled to free her arm but his grip was too strong for her to do so. While being stubborn, she continued struggling and she suddenly slipped onto the floor, dragging him along. They both fell once again and Angelique yelped with pain. </p><p>She realised that she could not shout after feeling her lips touched something soft. She slowly opened her eyes and what she was looking at will probably stay in her head for her whole life.</p><p>Alaude was on top of her and accidentally had his lips locked onto Angelique's lips.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. True Feelings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a sudden fall and he knew it was not his fault they both fell. Angelique was the one who struggled so hard to free his strong grip and she slipped, dragging him along. They were both kissing each other by accident. They froze, looking at each other with their shocked faces. </p><p>Seconds later, Alaude quickly sat up and he refused to look at her, covering his eyes with his hand. It felt like he had done the biggest sin in his life. Angelique slowly sat up and covering her lips with both of her hands. Her cheeks were blushing madly and shook her head hard, wishing that she could forget what had just happened.</p><p>She took some few deep breaths to calm herself and turned to look at Alaude, who was still sitting further from her. She crawled over to him and gently placing her hand on his free hand. It was rare to see his current reaction since most of the time, he always remained emotionless.</p><p>"Are you alright there, Alaude?"</p><p>"I'm fine..."</p><p>"How is that supposed to be fine with that kind of reaction of yours?"</p><p>He did not answer her question. He was silent and he knew that she would be waiting until he answered. He moved his hand from his eyes and his ears appeared to be reddish. He gave a deep sigh as he looked up at the ceiling of the small storeroom.</p><p>"The basic thing that my mother taught me was to not take any advantages to girls. I did it."</p><p>"But I'm not mad! I mean, it's my fault for this to happen-"</p><p>"I stole your first kiss, Angelique. Why are you not mad about it?"</p><p>"W-well, if you did...I would have slapped you earlier. Besides, Christine used to tell me that our first kiss is always reserved for someone we truly loved the most. I did steal yours too. Aren't you supposed to be angry as well?"</p><p>He blinked, looking a little confused. </p><p>"Why should I be angry when you deserved to have mine?"</p><p>"What? You're not telling me that...you reserved your first kiss...for me?"</p><p>"Just because I've been chased down by many girls since I was young until now, doesn't mean I'd pay attention to them. Their presence annoyed me so much that I would keep myself busy with work. But when I've met you for the first time, I feel different."</p><p>"Different?"</p><p>"It gives me the feeling that I would care and I should protect you for my whole life."</p><p>Angelique gave a light gasp as soon she heard his supposed confession. Her internal suspicion against Alaude had then faded in her mind because she knew what she was looking for. Alaude gripped her hand and stared at her with his sincere look.</p><p>"I've always wanted to say this for a long time. I'm sorry for making you waiting for me. I love you, Angelique."</p><p>Her eyes widened and she had the feeling that she wanted to faint. Was it a mere dream or real? The man she had been in love with had confessed his feelings towards her.</p><p>"I-I..."</p><p>"If you don't feel the same way as I do, I understand-"</p><p>"No! It's not like that!" she said quickly. "I-I do love you too, Alaude!"</p><p>"You do?"</p><p>"Yes, since our first meeting. You're not like other men who wanted to marry me for wealth and status. You're different from them and you've been protective as what I wanted. But, I've been worried that you would not love me. We rarely kept in touch because of your work. After Philippe's bad break-up with Danielle, I was worried that I will end up just like him."</p><p>"And for now, you will never worry again."</p><p>"Why is that so?"</p><p>Alaude placed his hands on her shoulders and smiled at her.</p><p>"I do not care about your father's objection to our relationship. You are the only one in my heart and that will never change. I shall come to you and I will protect you."</p><p>Angelique then smiled warmly at him and nodded at his statement. She would be waiting for him to break free the chains around her, the restraint that prevented her from getting her happiness.</p><hr/><p>To avoid meeting up with Dion Anatole, Angelique was accompanied home by Alaude and they reached her mansion's backyard. Philippe quickly ran to them and he sighed with relief to see that she was safe. The blonde skylark bid farewell and left her mansion as she watched him from far. Philippe noticed that she looked much happier than before and he could guess it must be a good ending.</p><p>"Everything went well, Angie?"</p><p>"Yes, perfectly well."</p><p>"I knew it," Philippe smirked. "You look so happy after coming home with him. Is there something I should know?"</p><p>"W-what do you mean by that, Phil?" Angelique's face turned deep red. "It's not like I'm going to tell you that we've kissed-"</p><p>"Wait, what??" Philippe's eyes widened before he whispered. "Did you two kiss each other??"</p><p>"Oh, shut up!" she smacked his shoulder. "We'd actually kissed by accident because I slipped. I went on saying that it does not count as the first kiss. So, he said that he wanted to show me how a true first kiss looks like."</p><p>"I can't believe you said that to him," he laughed before he shot a playful look at her. "Well, how does it go?"</p><p>"He told me to close my eyes. I was too nervous and I did what he says. I waited and I could feel his hand touching my cheek. My eyes shut even tighter when his lips gently touched mine. I did not know what to do next and he was waiting for me to respond. So, I...kissed him back. He seemed happy and...we did not stop. It went on...really passionate..."</p><p>"Not bad for someone emotionless like him." </p><p>"Damn it! I cannot believe that he is such a good kisser..." Angelique covered her reddening cheeks.</p><p>"I daresay you like that," he chuckled. "No suspicion about him?"</p><p>"I got it. I'll never think negatively again. Though I just wished that Danielle will return to your side."</p><p>"Thanks for your concern, Angie. She had her own life for now."</p><p>She gave a small smile at him until she remembered something. "Wait, what about Dion Anatole?"</p><p>"Huh? Who?"</p><p>"That man who called out to you before I ran away? What happened after that?"</p><p>"Oh, that man," Philippe had recalled his memory. "He was just asking for directions to his required destination. Once you ran away, he asked me about you and I simply answered that you were having a stomachache and you ran to look for the washroom. He did look at you for a short time before he left."</p><p>"H-he is not going to know that I am in that boyish outfit, right?" she asked with her low tone.</p><p>"Did he track you down for real?"</p><p>"He did. If it is not because of Alaude's help, I would have been dead."</p><p>"Who is this Dion Anatole?"</p><p>"The oldest son of Duke of Anatole, a close friend of my father. They made an agreement where they would marry off their children together as a proof of friendship. His two younger brothers are going to marry Claudine and Antoinette and I will end up with Dion."</p><p>"Man, these people love to arrange marriages for their children. Why are you so scared of Dion anyway?"</p><p>"Because he used to bully me when I was young. He forced me to make a stupid promise that we will marry each other when we grew older. And now, he seemed to want to dominate me."</p><p>Philippe gave a disgusted look when she described Dion. He heard many stories about the noblemen's behaviour towards young women but he never expected that Dion Anatole could have been worse. There was no way he would let him marrying Angelique.</p><p>It was then he realised that he felt so powerless. What could he do to stop her arranged marriage so that she could live happily with Alaude?</p><hr/><p>
  <em>
    <span class="u">
      <b>Somewhere in Sicily...</b>
    </span>
  </em>
</p><p>Giotto and G had just returned from their trip and had decided to have a drink before returning to the Vongola Headquarters. They had some sort of a reunion meeting with their old friend, Cozart Shimon and spending a lot of time together until nightfall. They entered into one of their favourite cafes and had found out that the First Cloud was sitting nearby the window while reading his supposed notebook. The young boss noticed the frown on Alaude's face and he knew something was not good. He would not question but instead, he greeted him with his usual warm smile.</p><p>"Are you here alone, Alaude?"</p><p>"Do I look like I want someone to accompany me?"</p><p>"Of course you don't want it but I bet Angelique Bravard is an exception, right?"</p><p>The blonde skylark shot his annoyed look at Giotto. G sighed at the young boss's attitude, he would never stop teasing people. The First Storm crossed his arms and was looking at Alaude curiously.</p><p>"You never rest, aren't you? Even this night, you had been travelling recently. Are you in a serious case that needs to be solved?"</p><p>"I cannot simply let more people die. Especially when a certain murderer is on the loose," Alaude answered bluntly.</p><p>"Get a grip. Just let the local police to handle this problem," said G.</p><p>"The problem is that they could not even solve it. More of them are becoming victims."</p><p>"Why the heck are you so obsessed with this case??</p><p>"I do not want Angelique to be the next one to die," the blonde skylark's tone was rather threatening and Giotto had to stop both of them.</p><p>"G, Alaude, that's enough."</p><p>His right-hand man immediately went silent. Alaude turned away and refusing to look at them. The young boss decided to ask him instead.</p><p>"What is that case you are solving and why do you think that Angelique will be the next victim?"</p><p>The blonde skylark did not answer but he knew that Giotto would not go away until he explained everything.</p><p>"The murderer was in southern France, the day we accompanied them to the Anatole mansion. He was probably planning to harm Angelique and her sisters but when he knew I was around, he tried to kill me off, fearing that I will unmask his identity."</p><p>"So that explains why you were wearing the gloves. You're hiding that wound, right?"</p><p>"Indeed. The murderer already killed eight young women one day after their official marriage."</p><p>"Eight of them? Could it be their supposed husband who killed them?"</p><p>"These young women got married in private and their supposed husband's name was still unknown. I believe that it was the same person who married all of them before murdering them. That is not all. The victims had their missing body parts after they were killed. Hands, legs, ears and other body parts."</p><p>"What kind of sick psycho did all these?" G asked while he gritted his teeth.</p><p>"That is the real mystery. If I get the final piece of a puzzle, I will get the whole answer."</p><p>Giotto was not involved with any Alaude's cases but he was intrigued by this current case. There must be a real reason why the killer would target the brides and stealing their body parts. </p><p>He blinked, he seemed to remember something else when he met up with Cozart Shimon.</p><p>"G, do you remember what Cozart had told us about one of his guardian's newlywed wife?"</p><p>"Yes, she was found dead while she was on her way back home. What about it?"</p><p>"Cozart said that she was murdered and she had missing ears. Do you think she is also the victim?"</p><p>"Well-"</p><p>"Yes, she is," the blonde skylark answered.</p><p>"What??" G exclaimed with shock. "You're not telling me that Cozart's guardian is the murderer??"</p><p>"No, he's not. The murderer was desperate to look for more victims until he heard a woman who just got married days ago. So, he simply killed her and took her ears," Alaude took out a piece of paper with eight names on it. "Here are the names of the victims." </p><p>The young boss picked it up and he read each of the names (Lilia, Noelle, Pauline, Juliette, Alina, Isabella, Fiorella and Luciana). Giotto frowned at the name Fiorella, the dead wife of Cozart's guardian.</p><p>As this was getting more suspicious, the three of them heard a scream from the waitress who had just come in with her pale white face. The other waiters came to her with worry and been questioning her. She explained that she saw the dead body of a bride nearby the river and mentioned that the bride's nose and mouth had been removed from her face.</p><p>Alaude ran out from the cafe to check and Giotto followed him from behind along with G. They arrived at the river and they saw some local police trying to seal off the spot to avoid from anyone coming near. When they saw the certain blonde skylark, they let him and Giotto check on the bride's corpse.</p><p>The nose and the mouth were removed from the bride's face. As expected by Alaude, there was a knife wound on her hand. His eyes soon fixed on the crumpled paper inside the corpse's lace glove. He carefully took it out and there was writing on the paper. This was quite a shock for him when he read it out.</p><p>
  <em>I am so sorry, Philippe. Please forgive me.</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Despair</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Angelique's parents and her two sisters had returned home and the servants were back to their busy work once again. She must make sure that none of them knew about her secret meeting with Alaude days ago and was trying hard not to make her face red all over again. It was simply because she could not forget the first kiss she shared with the blonde skylark. She said that she will always be waiting for him. She left her room and was looking at her brother, Guillaume. He was talking to Gwenael before the butler left to do his job.</p><p>"Is there anything wrong, brother?" Angelique asked curiously.</p><p>"Oh, it's nothing," Guillaume shot a small smile at her. "I had been informed by Gwenael that his son, Philippe will be taking some few days off. Our father had allowed him to take some break."</p><p>"Father granted Gwenael's permission to let Phil get someday offs?"</p><p>"Why not? Father looks like a selfish man but he cares for the servants."</p><p>"If only he cared about his children."</p><p>"Now, now, Angelique. Father had just returned home and there is no further argument for this time. Just don't let him know that you and Alaude are officially together."</p><p>"H-how did you know that??" Angelique whispered loudly and the blush appeared on her cheeks.</p><p>"Have you forgotten that I am Elena and Daemon's friend?" Guillaume smirked. "No worries, your secret is safe with me."</p><p>She pouted before she smiled at him. She was hoping that Philippe would be alright after breaking up with Danielle for more than a month. It was then when her two sisters came with the wide grin on their faces. Angelique and Guillaume gave a slight dislike look before Claudine spoke out.</p><p>"We have awesomely good news ~"</p><p>"And what good news is that?" Guillaume asked.</p><p>"Antoinette and I will marry with Anatole's sons by next week. Together with our dear little sister."</p><p>"What?!" Angelique retorted. "Why is all sudden?!"</p><p>"Father and the Duke of Anatole had made many preparations during our long trip and they agreed to do it next week. Besides, Dion Anatole was so thrilled for that such grand day~" Antoinette explained.</p><p>"They can't do this without my knowledge!"</p><p>"It is because you refused to marry someone else, they had decided to carry out this plan without your knowledge," sneered Claudine.</p><p>"That's it! I'm going to talk to father!" Angelique muttered angrily and stormed off to her father's study room. Ignoring her proper politeness of being a lady, she slammed the door open with her angered look and this surprised her father.</p><p>"Why did you do this to me??"</p><p>"What did I do to you, Angelique?" the Duke of Bravard asked with his puzzled look.</p><p>"Father is going to let that Dion Anatole marry me! How could you do this to me?!"</p><p>"It has been decided and we've been waiting for this moment to happen. You should have been happy about it," the duke tried to smile and this did not calm his daughter down.</p><p>"Father did this for the sake of friendship and power! Have you ever think about me?! Ever?!"</p><p>"Angelique, I would be much appreciated if you stop yelling at me-"</p><p>"If you do not cancel this damn arranged marriage, I'll leave this mansion!!"</p><p>The scene turned tensed between the Duke and Angelique. She was a little exhausted after yelling too much and her father was merely speechless. He took some few deep breaths and glared at her.</p><p>"You leave me no choice, Angelique. Your marriage with Dion Anatole will happen and I'll never cancel it no matter what. With that, I'll have you locked up in your room until that wedding day."</p><p>"W-what the-" Angelique's eyes widened in horror and soon, a group of servants came into the duke's study room and held her arms tightly.</p><p>"I will eventually sure that you will live happily with Dion rather than that blonde young man you wanted to marry. You may say goodbye to him and your freedom."</p><p>Angelique struggled to free herself only to end up forcefully dragged into her room. The servants shoved her into her room and locked up the door and the windows. She was horrified and she kept on banging the door to open but failed. She kept on screaming for help and Claudine and Antoinette gave an alarmed look. Guillaume was in total disbelief and he turned to look at his two younger sisters. </p><p>He was very angry. The same angry look after Lilia took her own life.</p><p>"I hope both of you are happy to see Angelique's miserable life. I do not even understand why I ever have two heartless younger sisters."</p><p>Claudine and Antoinette felt that their heart was pierced with his cold statement before he left to see the duke. He went into the study room and the duke was giving a satisfied and relief look.</p><p>"Why are you so desperate to marry them off, especially Angelique??"</p><p>"The faster, the better," the Duke commented. "Once Angelique got married, I am sure that she will be a good wife to Dion Anatole."</p><p>"I don't believe that such crap. Are you trying to hurt her emotionally and mentally? For the sake of title and power??"</p><p>"I do not want a piece of advice from a child who does not marry for the sake of family," the duke stared coldly at his son. "You're forbidden to go near to her room or seeing her. I know what you might want to do for her."</p><p>Guillaume and the Duke of Bravard were looking at each other. It was a long silence between them and the duke would not change his mind. The duke's son was angry and he had made up his final decision as well.</p><p>"Looks like we've chosen our path, father. No, I would prefer to call you Duke instead."</p><p>"What are you talking about, Guillaume??"</p><p>"Your pride has destroyed something important in my life. First, Lilia...and now Angelique. If it wasn't because you highly value your status, I would have been happy with Lilia. Angelique would be much happier to stay with Alaude. With what you've done to my beloved youngest sister, I do not have the right to stay in this mansion as a family."</p><p>"Why you-"</p><p>"I am done here. I am no longer your son. It's just me, Guillaume. Not Guillaume Bravard."</p><p>Without waiting for the duke's explanation, Guillaume left the study room and he started to pack some of his things before leaving the mansion. Despite his mother's cries, he would not take back his words. After Lilia's death, he clearly said that he no longer had a connection with his family apart from Angelique and Christine. When he stepped out from the mansion, he turned to look at Angelique's room, whose windows were completely locked. He gave a deep guilt look for not being able to save her.</p><p>"I'm so sorry, Angelique."</p><hr/><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span class="u">In the church at Sicily...</span>
    </em>
  </b>
</p><p>"Any updates about the recent murder?" Knuckle asked curiously after he was done stacking the Bibles on the shelf.</p><p>"Only some..." Alaude answered and stared at his written paper. "The victim's name is Danielle, murdered by the same serial killer. I find out that she used to be a girlfriend of a certain person named Philippe, the gardener who worked for Angelique's family."</p><p>"What??" the priest exclaimed with shock. "That victim had a connection with that gardener?"</p><p>"I know him since he is Angelique's best friend. I have interrogated him about Danielle's death and he looked like he was unable to accept the fact that she had been murdered. They broke up months ago and marrying that murderer before she died with her missing nose and mouth."</p><p>"The murderer's identity is still unknown?"</p><p>"The churches I've visited did not add that groom's name. Maybe he could have bribed the priests to not writing down his name."</p><p>Alaude felt more frustrated and had been trying so hard to solve that case. The priest knew that he had been mentally exhausted and the blonde skylark was also worried about Angelique's safety. Before Knuckle could say anything, Lampo suddenly stormed into the church with his alarmed look, as if he was being chased down by taxpayers.</p><p>"Shocking news, everyone! It's shocking!"</p><p>"What is so shocking to the ultimate, Lampo? Grocery prices went low again??"</p><p>"Ah yes, groceries..." Lampo sighed but then shook his head hard. "No, not that! There's official news that the three daughters of Bravard family will be marrying with the three sons of Anatole family within these few days! It means that Angelique will be marrying off with one of those Anatole's sons!"</p><p>The news announced by Lampo had snapped Alaude's mind. He furiously punched the brick wall and his fist was bleeding. Knuckle and Lampo flinched with shock and they quickly came to him to calm him down.</p><p>"H-hey, Alaude...are you alright?" the priest asked with worry.</p><p>"I'm fine..." the blonde skylark muttered lowly.</p><p>"You've been exhausted. Go and get a rest."</p><p>"Not until I'm done with this case..." he removed his bloodied fist from the cracked wall and walked away. </p><p>"Stop being stubborn, Alaude!" the priest grabbed his arm and shouted at him. "You're ultimately tired!"</p><p>"Please...leave me alone."</p><p>The blonde skylark just blankly stared at the other two guardians before he pulled his arm away from the priest's grip and left the church. Knuckle sighed and he had been thinking of how to get his friend back to his self.</p><p>"I-Is he going to be alright?" Lampo asked nervously.</p><p>"He is confused and disappointed. Might as well we follow him from behind to make sure he is not doing anything stupid. We need to tell Primo about this too."</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <b>In the streets of France...</b>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>Philippe walked all by himself at the busy streets of France. He had not been cheerful ever since he broke up with Danielle. It became worse when Alaude once approached him to talk about his former girlfriend. He felt like something was dead inside his heart as soon he learnt about her gruesome death right after she got married to another man he never knew.</p><p>Especially when he found out that she had written an apology letter to him.</p><p>Unable to concentrate on his work, he asked the duke's permission to take some few days off to rest without even telling Angelique. He assumed that she had other things to worry about. He felt more useless when he could not protect his girlfriend. He wished that he knew who was that killer who took Danielle's life.</p><p>He went inside the bar and ordered his usual drink to the bartender. He was in his deep thought without knowing that two people were sitting behind him, having a casual conversation. Philippe did not eavesdrop but as soon Angelique's name was mentioned, he did not turn around to look who it was. Instead, he pretended to enjoy his drink while listening to the conversation carefully.</p><p>"...the Duke of Anatole and the Duke of Bravard have finally set up the proper time to marry their children off. Hopefully, this will be the most successful plan."</p><p>"Indeed. Angelique Bravard is my absolute last piece to complete my eternal puzzle. I have been waiting for years to show the whole world. To prove that I can revive the dead."</p><p>"Is that why you've been harvesting all the dead bride's body parts?"</p><p>"I want my beloved wife to stay as beautiful as she used to be. Slender hands from Lilia, long legs from Noelle, and perfect nose and mouth from Danielle. The only thing I need is a pair of eyes. Angelique Bravard happens to have the most beautiful eyes I've seen."</p><p>"But what about that secret detective? He is bound to track us down since he never fails to catch any criminals."</p><p>"As soon he finds out the whole answer, I'll flee from this country. I'll make sure that he will never know who am I."</p><p>Philippe's mind froze in shock. The person behind him was the one had murdered Danielle and he was now aiming to kill Angelique for her eyes. His heart was racing so fast that he almost dropped his glass of wine. He heard both of them leaving their seats and stood outside to have fresh air. He slowly turned around and noticed that there were two glasses of whiskey and a notebook. Philippe gulped and carefully to sneak under their table to get that notebook before he put in his vest pocket.</p><p>Without wasting more time, he paid for his drink and quickly ran out of the bar. He did not care for anything. As long as he could reach for Alaude, he would be able to save Angelique. He kept on running only to get himself bumped into someone by accident. He was about to apologise when someone grabbed his shirt collar, almost choking Philippe. It was dark in the alleyway and he could see a murderous smirk.</p><p>"I know you're eavesdropping on our conversation. It is not polite and I have a way to keep your mouth shut...forever."</p><p>Philippe's eyes widened and that man was covering his mouth, thrusting the sharp blade deeply into his stomach. Philippe felt as if he was out of the air to breathe and slowly collapsed onto the ground with blood oozing out from his wound. He was left to bleed to death at the dark alleyway and Philippe once again had lost his hope to live. </p><p>Along with the deep regret that he no longer been able to save Angelique.</p><p>His eyesight was getting blurry and he held out his hand to try to call for help. </p><p>The last thing he saw after he fell into total darkness, he saw an orange flame on someone's forehead.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Final Count</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Those few days felt like years had passed. The servants were the only ones to give Angelique some required meals while she was locked up in her room. She refused to eat or drink anything and this made her grew paler and skinnier. Not only that, she refused to speak to anyone. Even how much they had scolded her, she would not take any of it. The mansion had been quiet especially that Angelique had no longer talked. She had been crying silently and felt so lonely. She grew much depressed as the day passed. </p><p>Gwenael was the only one who cared about Angelique. He held the most power among the servants simply because he was the butler but he had to obey his master's orders. Gwenael grew worried as he realised that Philippe had not returned home after taking his few days off. No news from his son and was wishing that he would return to help Angelique.</p><p>After hearing from the servants that Angelique had not been touching her food for days, Gwenael decided to send the food instead. </p><p>That young lady needs to take some, he deeply thought. </p><p>He brought along a tray of food and drink and knocked on the door before entering her room. She was lying on her bed and stared at the blocked windows with her hollow look. It felt like she had lost her hope. Gwenael assumed that she knew that her brother had left the house. He placed the tray aside and stand near her bed with his concerned look.</p><p>"Milady, it's time to wake up," Gwenael called out to her. She looked up at him with her tired look.</p><p>"Morning, Gwenael..." she muttered.</p><p>"How are you feeling?"</p><p>"I feel like I want to die so soon."</p><p>"No, milady. This is something that should not come out from your mouth."</p><p>"What is even the point when I will be that man's wife?" her voice was hoarse. "I rather die than marrying that man."</p><p>Angelique buried herself in the blanket and sobbed so hard. Gwenael took a seat in an armchair while facing her. It did not matter if he had to take a long time to convince her.</p><p>"Milady, I have known you for many years and I have been seeing you grow up as a beautiful young lady. You are about the same age as Philippe when I first came here. We both came from a poor background and Philippe lost his mother when he was very young. He is a determined young boy, willingly to work rather than studying. You have been the one teaching him to read and write. I am grateful for that. I would love to see that young lady with a strong personality once again."</p><p>"Strong.....personality?"</p><p>"Milord Guillaume, milady Christine and you are the only ones who see the lower rank people as an equal. This is why Philippe and I are much comfortable speaking to the three of you. I cannot agree with the duke's decision to marry off his children with someone who has equal status as he does."</p><p>"I am glad to hear that, Gwenael," she gave a small smile. "I am much comfortable talking to anyone else."</p><p>"And all I ask that milady should keep on living."</p><p>"I cannot do that. I am in pain, why should I do that?"</p><p>"Because someone is waiting for you to come back to his side," Gwenael smiled.</p><p>"S-someone?"</p><p>"Philippe often tells a lot of stories about your meeting with that secret lover of yours. It seems that you have chosen your path to your happiness. People often say that they smile the widest when they meet someone they truly love the most," Gwenael explained. "So, do you love Dion Anatole or Alaude?"</p><p>"Of course I-" Angelique coughed a little and cleared her dry throat before she cried once again. "I-I miss him. I...I want to see Alaude...once again."</p><p>"Then please believe in him, milady," Gwenael added. "He will come to you as he had promised."</p><p>She slowly nodded and blinked her eyes hard. With Guillaume and Philippe's absence, she felt quite relieved to have Gwenael to talk to her. With that, she finally took some meal to regain back her energy. </p><p>After many hours, he left her room and locked it, instructing other servants to bring the tray back to the kitchen. He sighed, feeling as if he had accomplished a hard task. He stared at the window where he could see the dark skies covering the bright sun. He frowned, as he had now been worrying over Philippe's whereabouts.</p><p>"I have done what I can do. Please return quickly and help milady, Philippe."</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>
      <em>At the inn from France...</em>
    </b>
  </span>
</p><p>He felt like he was out of the air to breathe. He gasped with pain and almost choked himself. It felt so painful that he wanted to scream so much. He wondered if he had to go through all these tortures before he died. He had forgotten why he would struggle to live when it was clear that he will not be able to hold on much longer. Almost reaching the gate of death, he could hear many people shouting around him. It was a little faint and he felt like he heard those voices before.</p><p>
  <em>"...it's no good, Primo! He's losing even more blood!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Don't fret more, Lampo! Just a little bit more and he will be saved!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You're always saying the same thing, Knuckle! He's not even waking up!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Don't lose hope, minna-san! There is still a chance to save this boy's life!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oi, Primo! Why the hell you wanted to save this boy so much?!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"G, please understand the whole situation. He is the only one who can help Angelique and Alaude."</em>
</p><p>Philippe remembered. Almost everything. Angelique was in grave danger and he needed to tell Alaude about it. He kept on forcing himself to wake up and he was not ready to die yet. He will not be able to rest in peace if he did not do anything. </p><p>He had opened his eyes a little and when he was about to talk, he felt something sharp pierced in his throat. He could not control it and coughed out even more blood, much to Lampo's horror. Philippe grew even weaker and collapsed again, causing Knuckle to use his Sun Flame to heal his serious wound. His vision blurred again and he could see a certain blonde young man coming to his side.</p><p>Giotto signalled his other guardians to keep quiet and he leaned nearer to Philippe's side to hear his voice. He spoke to him with his calm tone.</p><p>"Philippe, it's me, Giotto. I am a friend of Angelique. We need you to stay alive because you are the only one who can fix the whole situation. You need to hold on much longer."</p><p>Philippe's breathing went a little slower but it looked like he was in a stable condition thanks to Knuckle's hard work. He nodded his head once and as soon he had found his voice, he tried to talk as loud as he could. Even if he had to say out some words for Giotto to understand.</p><p>"...I...need...to...talk..."</p><p>"Talk to who, Philippe?"</p><p>"...to...Alaude...about...the...murderer..."</p><p>"The murderer? You know who was that?"</p><p>"...help...Angie..."</p><p>The guardians were so tensed to find out the truth but Philippe was unable to continue, yelling with pain that came from his injury. Knuckle had no choice but to ask everyone to leave the room to give some space for Philippe. All of them left the room and Giotto was the last to leave, turning to stare at his guardians with his serious look.</p><p>"Any of you can contact Alaude?"</p><p>"I've tried looking for him but he's nowhere to be found," Lampo explained quickly.</p><p>"I did ask one of those agents from his workplace and they said he never returned to his office," said G.</p><p>"And he was not with his mother, <em>de gozaru</em>," Asari answered.</p><p>Giotto then turned to look at the illusionist. </p><p>"I believe you might know where is he, Daemon. Use any means to bring him back here. There is a last piece of the puzzle he has been looking for."</p><hr/><p>Alaude was walking back to the spot where he first met up with Angelique. He stood nearby the old warehouse and stared at that building, remembering the moment where she fell and he went over to catch her. He was reminiscing those times he spent with her and he was thinking to forget about her. She was going to marry that man and maybe one day, she would forget about him. </p><p>"Looks like I have found the lone skylark wandering around this abandoned area."</p><p>He did not look but he knew that voice. He frowned and began to feel annoyed at the First Mist's presence.</p><p>"What do you want? If there's nothing to talk about, just leave me alone."</p><p>"I have an important task to do here and I will accomplish it. Whether you like it or not, you will need to return to Primo at once."</p><p>"I don't need someone else to give me an order."</p><p>Daemon did not know how stubborn he was. He decided to try to taunt him further.</p><p>"I can't believe how weak is the First Cloud of Vongola Famiglia. People often say that he is strong and flawless, but all I see is nothing. Coward, and unable to move on."</p><p>The blonde skylark was irked and he threw across his handcuff at the aristocrat illusionist. Daemon dodged that handcuff and landed just in front of him with a smirk on his face. Alaude did not hesitate and he extended the handcuff's chains to restrain Daemon. The illusionist once again dodged, letting a copy of himself got caught and finding some weaknesses at the other. He grew angrier and duplicating more of his handcuffs, throwing straight at Daemon's clones. </p><p>Before he could do anything, the real Daemon was behind him. Catching and preventing him from attacking further. Alaude struggled but he could not free himself from Daemon's grasp.</p><p>"You always win whenever we fight but this time, I win. Don't blame me for your loss. Blame yourself for getting yourself too carried away with your disturbed mind."</p><p>As soon the blonde skylark's eyes met Daemon's eyes, the illusionist's right eye had turned into a shape of a spade and he easily took over Alaude's mind. The other had stopped struggling and his knees fell to the ground. He looked like a controlled puppet that was waiting for the command from its master. </p><p>Daemon was quite amused as he had easily controlled his mind.</p><p>"You shall follow me back to Primo's meeting place. No more fighting and no more holding back."</p><p>Overall, Daemon had managed to bring Alaude back to where Giotto was and all the guardians were in shock to see that such a situation. It was the first time the blonde skylark ever surrendered to Daemon and Giotto was slightly surprised to see that scene. The aristocrat illusionist broke the mind control, leaving Alaude felt a little clueless and confused before he glared at him. Giotto quickly came to him or another fight might occur again.</p><p>"Alaude, I called you back here for reason. I will allow you to have a rematch with Daemon, right after we are done solving this serious situation."</p><p>"What is that serious situation you're talking about?" the blonde skylark asked with his low tone. G was hissing with irritation because Alaude was being rude to Giotto.</p><p>"Philippe is holding the last piece of evidence for the murder case of the dead brides, which is also the key to save Angelique's life. However, he was attacked by that certain murderer and almost dying. He wants to tell you the whole story."</p><p>Alaude was stunned at Giotto's explanation. Without waiting, he quickly stood up and ran straight into the room where Knuckle was busy healing Philippe's stab wound. The priest had been talking softly to him to keep him from suffering from the pain he received. The blonde skylark slowly came to his side and grasp his cold hand to tell him that he had come to him. Philippe opened his tired eyes and was feeling so relieved to see him there.</p><p>"Can you talk, Philippe?"</p><p>The other nodded while he breathed slowly. Alaude took the nearest chair and sat beside him, allowing Knuckle to continue healing Philippe's wound.</p><p>"I can wait much longer, so don't force yourself to tell the whole thing at one time. If you need to stop, then please do so before continuing."</p><p>Philippe once again nodded his head and he then started to tell what he knew and what he had witnessed on that night.</p><hr/><p>After three hours, Knuckle left the room with his tired face and all the guardians came to him to know what happened.</p><p>"Is everything well, Knuckle?" Giotto asked with worry.</p><p>"That boy's wound is healed and he is now resting. Even Alaude is done questioning him."</p><p>"Ah, <em>yokatta ne</em>," Asari sighed with relief.</p><p>"It's not over yet," G piped in before he continued. "So, we can straight away know who is this psychotic serial killer??"</p><p>"Nah, you will have to wait for tomorrow instead," the priest answered.</p><p>"The hell? We're in a crucial situation and you said we have to wait tomorrow??"</p><p>"Hey, calm down a bit. Alaude had not been sleeping for five days. Just give him a one day break, will you?"</p><p>"Five days?!" Lampo exclaimed with shock. "I don't think I can stand not sleeping for a day!"</p><p>"I understand. Thanks for everything, Knuckle. You can get yourself rest too since you almost used up all your flames to heal Philippe's wound," Giotto stated.</p><p>All the guardians then took their time to rest before they assembled once again to build up a plan to save Angelique.</p><p>Before she became the serial killer's final victim.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Backfire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was no further news about the serial killer after Danielle's death. Most of the couples were not brave enough to marry in a church for they fear to be the next victim. Despite this killing, this would not stop the Duke of Bravard and the Duke of Anatole to carry on with their children's marriage. Almost all the royal families were attending the grand day and the main city of France had beautifully decorated as well as the large church.</p><p>Elena was attending the wedding with her family and Daemon. They soon arrived at the town of France and she was simply amazed to see the town was fully decorated to celebrate the grand day. It was no wonder someone said that France was indeed a romantic country to visit. She clung her arm with Daemon's arm and they both walked around the town while waiting for the wedding ceremony to happen.</p><p>"Daemon, if one day we marry, are we going to come over to France?"</p><p>"Why is that so, Elena?"</p><p>"I don't know, but France looks like a perfect place."</p><p>"But I think Venice is a good place. Don't you always love the Venetian style?"</p><p>"Well, I..." Elena rolled her eyes another side as Daemon chuckled at her reaction.</p><p>"If I indeed marry you, I shall bring you to a place that might be much better than France."</p><p>"I will be waiting for that to happen."</p><p>They walked further until they soon realised who was the one getting married. Elena's smile turned into a sad smile as she thought of Angelique.</p><p>"I wanted to see Angelique getting married to Alaude instead."</p><p>"So do I. But it seems that her father is being too stubborn, forcing her to marry a man she never loves."</p><p>"We really can't do anything about it, Daemon?"</p><p>The aristocrat illusionist stopped walking for a moment and he stared at the large church where the wedding ceremony will begin. He gave a light sigh before answering her question.</p><p>"Unless if there is a miracle."</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>
      <em>At the Bravard's mansion...</em>
    </b>
  </span>
</p><p>It was the most important day for the Bravard family and Claudine had been spending most of her time getting her hair done and was beautifying her face. The servants were careful enough to help her wearing the white wedding dress gown and placing the veil on top of her head. On the other hand, Antoinette was done wearing her wedding dress and her hair but she was not as excited as Claudine. The day when Angelique was being locked up in her room kept circling inside her head and she started to feel bad for her little sister. Claudine had been calling out for her a few times and she came to her, smacking her shoulder harshly.</p><p>"What's that for??" asked Antoinette with shock.</p><p>"I have been calling for you and you did not answer, so don't blame me," said Claudine sarcastically.</p><p>"Right, what do you want from me?"</p><p>"Do you have any hair ornaments? I must look stunning today for Esteban."</p><p>"Go and find it in my drawer," said Antoinette lazily.</p><p>"Hey, I'm asking you to take it!" snapped Claudine.</p><p>"I-I'm not your servant!" Antoinette retorted loudly.</p><p>"I don't care, just go and get it for me! Don't make me punish you for disobeying my orders!"</p><p>"I'm your sister, Claudine! How could you said like that just because you're father's favourite?!"</p><p>"Is there anything wrong with it? Are you jealous of me, dear Antoinette?"</p><p>"For all this time until our wedding day, I have been worried about Angelique but you don't even care about her! All you think is that Esteban Anatole!"</p><p>"Oh? Aren't you fancying over Fabien?"</p><p>"I don't need you to give an opinion about me and Fabien. Guillaume is right, you're such a heartless woman I've ever witnessed!"</p><p>Without waiting for Claudine's reply, Antoinette stormed out from the room and was on her way to her horse carriage. She then stopped in front of Angelique's room and the door was wide open, revealing her youngest sister in her beautiful white wedding dress. Angelique was far much prettier than Claudine but she was much skinnier and she looked like she was lack of energy. Antoinette even saw the duke sitting opposite of Angelique and he was trying to give some good encouragement to his youngest daughter. Angelique showed no emotion on her face and refused to talk to her father. The duke grunted and stood up, leaving the room. Antoinette took her chance to try to interact with her sister as she entered her room.</p><p>"Hello, Angelique. It's been long, right?"</p><p>The younger did not answer, retaining her stoic look on her face.</p><p>"You look so beautiful, much better than that proud Claudine. Well, she has been busy with her hair and her face so that Esteban could love her more. Though right now, I refused to speak to her for being too arrogant."</p><p>"Weren't you the same, Antoinette?" Angelique spoke out with her low tone.</p><p>"Eh? Me? But I-"</p><p>"You become Claudine's side-kick because she can talk to father easily. You know that I have been sometimes innocent but you never helped me. You're afraid of Claudine and father. And you've decided to talk to me after what had happened to me right now?"</p><p>"I...I'm sorry, but I-"</p><p>"It's fine. I understand. Now please leave me alone, I don't want to talk to anyone else."</p><p>Antoinette's heart fell. It was clear enough to see how much Angelique hates her for not been helping her all this time. Feeling guilty, she left her sister's room and went out to ride on the horse carriage. </p><p>After all the preparations had done, the Bravard family were ready to set off to the church to get the wedding ceremony started. Angelique was about to leave her room when she was shocked by Dion's presence in her room.</p><p>"W-what are you doing in my room? You're not supposed to meet the bride until the ceremony is over," she glared at him.</p><p>"I've asked your father's permission. Is it so wrong for me to meet my beautiful wife?" said Dion with his sly smile.</p><p>"If you're a true gentleman, you would have just followed the right etiquette. Not being so rude just because you have my father's favour."</p><p>Dion chuckled darkly and he walked towards her, pulling her by her waist so that their face was close to each other.</p><p>"Let me tell you something, Angelique. I can do whatever I want and I will certainly get something that I want. After this ceremony, you will be mine."</p><p>"Please...let me off..." she struggled to break free.</p><p>"I just love to see you struggle like this. Not to worry. We will spend our time together when we officially become husband and wife."</p><p>Dion released her with a quick way and turned away to leave her room. Angelique felt nothing but angry and scared. That was when she noticed that there was a green earring at Dion's right earlobe. For first, she did not care about it and she started to remember something important. This was when Alaude once told her about the mysterious assailant who tried to kill him off.</p><p>
  <em>"That assailant was wearing the green earring at the right earlobe. It is the only thing I saw."</em>
</p><p>Her eyes widened with horror. Was she going to marry someone who tried to attack the blonde skylark?</p><hr/><p>
  <b>
    <span class="u">
      <em>Inside the large church in France...</em>
    </span>
  </b>
</p><p>Most of the important guests were seated and waited. Some of them were talking to each other excitedly. Elena and Daemon were seated together with Marionette and Elena's family. Even Giotto and his guardians were invited as well and they took their seat as well, with the absence of his Cloud Guardian and his Sun Guardian. Knuckle was in charge to begin the wedding ceremony and instructed the grooms to stand at their respective places.</p><p>The three Anatole brothers stood straight, trying to look as smart as they can while staring at the church's door, waiting for their soon-to-be wife. As the nun started to play the piano, the door opened and the three brides started to walk down the aisle accompanied by their father. Claudine walked first, followed by Antoinette and Angelique. Among the three sisters, the guests were staring at Angelique's appearance. She still could not show her genuine smile but she was far more stunning than her two older sisters. Her eyes were looking over at the guests and she felt a little disappointed when she noticed that her brother and the blonde skylark were not at there. Only Giotto, his guardians, Elena and Marionette. She deeply sighed and turned back to look at her front, feeling so dreaded when she got closer to Dion's place.</p><p>Knuckle then began the ceremony by reading out the wedding vows between the brides and the grooms, starting from Claudine and Esteban. As soon they were done with their declaration, Antoinette took her turn with Fabien. They also both declared each other as an official married couple and it was finally Angelique and Dion's turn. She wished this would never happen and badly wanted to escape from her wedding. Knuckle cleared his throat and he started to ask Dion.</p><p>"Do you, Dion Anatole, take Angelique Bravard to be your wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love to cherish, till death do you part, according to God's holy ordinance?"</p><p>"I do," Dion answered without thinking. His smirk was getting wider and he was looking impatient. The priest then turned to look at Angelique.</p><p>"Do you, Angelique Bravard, take Dion Anatole to be your wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love to cherish, till death do you part, according to God's holy ordinance?"</p><p>She heard it but she did not answer. The guests were curious about her silence and the Duke of Bravard felt like he wanted to shout at her to answer the priest's question. Elena, Daemon and Marionette were wondering why and they thought she might not be ready for this day. Knuckle softly called out for her to answer the vow. Angelique took a deep breath and face the priest with her determined look.</p><p>"Never," she simply answered.</p><p>"I beg your pardon?" the priest blinked.</p><p>"I say, never."</p><p>Everyone in the church gasped with surprise. That was such an unexpected answer from Angelique and the Duke of Bravard tried to calm the guests down, making them think that it was a joke from his naughty daughter.</p><p>"I am so sorry about her behaviour. She must be...nervous. That is why she wrongly answered her vow-"</p><p>"Father, I am not nervous. I am being honest here," said Angelique. Dion gave his fake smile and tried to make her change her mind.</p><p>"Come on now, Angelique. Everyone is looking at us and you do not want to be a laughing stock among the royalty, right?"</p><p>"I don't care if I will be laughed at or not. I have the right to express my true feelings and no one can stop me from doing so," she glared at Dion before she looked at all the guests. </p><p>"I will never take this man as my wedded husband because he is not the man I truly loved. The wedding is meant to unite both people to be together till eternity. What is even the point of this marriage if you don't love the other? You have the right to love someone no matter what their background is. Your life is in your hands, not in other people's hands."</p><p>The guests were staring at her and they then started to agree with her statement. Marionette warmly smiled and was happy that Angelique had made her right choice. The Duke of Anatole demanded a better explanation from the Duke of Bravard. When things almost getting out of control, the church's door opened once again and all of them went quiet, looking over at the entrance. </p><p>Giotto simply smiled as he knew who was coming.</p><p>Alaude stepped into the church and slowly walked down the aisle, ignoring how the guest looking at him.</p><p>"I deeply apologise for my lateness," he said in his polite manners as he walked. "I am currently getting my job to be done. I am here to tell everyone about the murders committed by the serial killer."</p><p>He then stopped right in front of Dion, Angelique and Knuckle. He crossed his arms and casually looking at Dion as if he came to claim back his rightful throne. The other was a little uncomfortable but he hid that such feeling. That did not fool the blonde skylark.</p><p>"A sinner like you is not allowed to step into this such holy place."</p><p>"I-I certainly do not know why are you being so ridiculous. Especially on my wonderous wedding day."</p><p>"I am not being ridiculous. I am here to expose the truth." </p><p>Alaude took out his handcuffs from his trench coat pocket and gave a sharp look at Dion. </p><p>"You are under arrest for the murder of nine dead brides, Dion Anatole."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Checkmate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was an uproar in the church after Alaude announced that Dion Anatole was the serial killer behind all the brides' murder. Most of them were in shock and they wanted to know the whole story. The ones who disagree the most were the Duke of Anatole, Esteban and Fabien. </p><p>Dion laughed and shot an unbelievable look at the blonde skylark.</p><p>"How can I be the serial killer who goes around the place and killed those unfortunate brides? Do you know the real consequences of accusing the wrong person? Do you??"</p><p>"If you think that my brother is the serial killer, then show us your evidence, and tell us more about it!" Esteban shouted and half of the guests agreed with his statement.</p><p>Lampo, G, Asari, Marionette, Elena and Angelique were worried. What if his investigation might go wrong?</p><p>On the other hand, Giotto and Daemon were the only ones who remained calm, believing that the blonde skylark would never make a mistake. He was the Cloud Guardian of Vongola Famiglia after all.</p><p>"Fine with me. I'll tell you everything about this case. I will only say it once."</p><p>Alaude placed back the handcuff back into his pocket and he turned to look at the guests with his emotionless look.</p><p>"I came across this case where the local police could not solve it at all. Nine lives had been taken and the serial killer is yet to be caught. The nine brides have something in common. They were found dead a day after their marriage and some of their body parts had been harvested. The killer would leave a mark by cutting the back of their hand."</p><p>"Oh, so their supposed husband is the killer, right? That should be it!" said one of the guests.</p><p>"Yes. However, only eight victims were married to the same person. This killer never registered his name in any of the churches to cover his tracks."</p><p>"Then what about the other victim? You said that there are nine of them," another guest asked.</p><p>"Fiorella was an unfortunate victim since the killer was desperate to find another woman to kill and he did not have time to perform a wedding ceremony. Her husband had the concrete alibi where the murder occurred. I have confirmed this with Cozart Shimon because Fiorella's husband works for him."</p><p>Alaude then turned to look at Angelique's father. </p><p>"May I ask you something, Duke of Bravard?"</p><p>"W-what do you want from me?" he asked with displeasure and more curious looks fell to him. "I have nothing to do with this."</p><p>"Do you know who is the first victim of this murder?"</p><p>"The hell I know who is she!" he retorted. "Are you trying to put that blame on me?!"</p><p>"I didn't say that you are the killer. I am about to ask if you still remember Miss Lilia, the former girlfriend of Guillaume Bravard."</p><p>"W-what?"</p><p>"Lilia? She is also the serial killer's victim??" asked Angelique with her horrified look.</p><p>"Yes, she is. She was the serial killer's first victim."</p><p>"Don't talk rubbish! We know that poor girl committed suicide for the sake of father and Guillaume!" Claudine snapped with anger.</p><p>"There is always another story, Miss Claudine. Miss Lilia did not commit suicide. She was forced to marry that serial killer before being tortured and murdered. Her arms were harvested and her body was dumped into the river to look like she ended her own life."</p><p>"How did you know that??" Antoinette asked curiously.</p><p>"I have the complete autopsy report. The coroner on duty during the first murder was giving the conclusion that Miss Lilia was tortured and murdered based on the injuries she received. I find it suspicious."</p><p>The guests were whispering to each other and the situation in the church was growing intensely.</p><p>"Based on the interrogation I have with the victim's family members, they mentioned that their daughters had recently met this man named Andante Olio and mentioned that they wanted to marry this man. After their deaths, he was nowhere to be found-"</p><p>"You're getting lost here, young man," the Duke of Anatole interrupted. "Even when these murders occur, there is no way Dion would do it. He has been attending many formal events with me, Esteban and Fabien. And the most important thing, my son's name is Dion Anatole, not Andante Olio. What a nonsense name."</p><p>"What if I say that Dion Anatole has hired someone to be his double?"</p><p>"Double??" said Fabien.</p><p>"An eyewitness told me that he overheard two suspicious men talking about Angelique Bravard's wedding and their plans to kill her off just like the other victims. While those two men were out for fresh air, he found a notebook. He took it so that he could hand it to me."</p><p>The blonde skylark took out a notebook from his trench coat and showed it to everyone.</p><p>"I received this notebook from an eyewitness. Every single plan was written down. One of them will be acting as his double, attending all the functions with his father and his brothers while he went hunting down his victims."</p><p>The oldest son of Anatole laughed once again and he looked at the blonde skylark with his sarcastic look.</p><p>"You should have just written a book! These plots are so perfect and flawless! But remember, that serial killer's name is so far different from my name. You've mistaken me for that madman!"</p><p>"You can laugh whatever you want, Dion Anatole," Alaude glared at him. "As soon as I revealed the last clue of this murder case, I would like to see if you're able to laugh or not."</p><p>The guests suddenly went silent, they were now waiting for the last part that will solve the mystery of that case. Alaude went on to flip the notebook's pages until he stopped. He eventually showed the notebook page with two names on it to the guests. </p><p>
  <em>DION ANATOLE</em>
</p><p>
  <em>ANDANTE OLIO</em>
</p><p>Angelique was staring at that page and she seemed to know the answer. Her hands shivered at the same time as she turned to look at Alaude.</p><p>"It's an anagram. The name that is formed from the name Andante Olio is none other than Dion Anatole."</p><p>The guests' eyes widened with shock and horror. They started to believe that Dion was the serial killer. The Duke of Bravard and the Duke of Anatole were horrified, the same thing went to Esteban, Fabien, Claudine and Antoinette. Angelique's heart was beating too fast because she was standing near with a psychotic killer. Alaude remained calm as he turned to look at Dion.</p><p>"You feared that I would come to arrest you during the Bravard sisters' visit to your mansion. So, you tried to kill me that night. You failed. All you did was to leave a knife wound at the back of my hand, similar to what you've done to all the victims. That is the big mistake you have done."</p><p>"S-shut up..." Dion growled.</p><p>"I remembered that I had walked past a secret room just next to your bedroom. That secret room had an unpleasant smell as if something was dead. You harvested all the body parts of the dead victims. Are they for your supposed...deceased wife?"</p><p>Dion's mind had snapped and his eyes soon filled with hatred. He took out the knife from his suit and grabbed Angelique harshly, placing the knife at her throat. At the same time, the man who acted as Dion's double was aiming his guns at the guests. They screamed with fear and Alaude was about to save Angelique from that madman.</p><p>"Don't come near or I'll kill her right in this place!!" the older Anatole yelled with fury and he glared at the blonde skylark. "I know you have hidden weapons in your coat, so you better take it off or you'll never see her again!"</p><p>Angelique was shivering and was about to cry, fearing that she would lose her life if she struggled to free from Dion. Alaude was looking at her, telling her that everything will be over soon and not to worry. </p><p>Listening to Dion's words, he took off his trench coat and place it onto the aisle ground. The guests could not speak and they merely watch the scene quietly. The guardians remained calm and waiting for Giotto to give an order secretly. The Duke of Bravard timidly spoke up to Dion and he nervously smiled.</p><p>"Th...there's no need for violence, Dion. I'm so sure t-that it is just a big misunderstanding. Even so, Angelique is innocent and there's no way you would harm her..."</p><p>"Didn't you hear what the detective said??" said Dion roughly. "Just accept the fact that I am the serial killer named Andante Olio. Yes, this name is an anagram of my original name."</p><p>"W-why you want to do this, my son?? After what I have given everything to you to make you happy..." said the Duke of Anatole with disappointment.</p><p>"Can you make me happy after my wife died??" Dion asked with anger, gripping the knife tightly. "For first, I was bound to marry the woman I loved. You are the only one who hated her so much that you hired someone to assassinate her."</p><p>Esteban and Fabien's eyes widened in shock. "Brother, father would not have done this-"</p><p>"He freaking did it! He admitted it and he did not regret what he had done!!" Dion shouted.</p><p>"Dion, I..." the Duke of Anatole said lowly.</p><p>"I cried with despair after she died and I refused to let go of her corpse, so I kept it inside my secret room. Her body started to rot and she was getting out of shape. I badly wanted to keep her as beautiful as when she was alive. So, I started to harvest more body parts as a gift for my beloved wife. I seduced those women to marry me and this made my job much easier."</p><p>Dion pressed the knife even harder at Angelique's throat and started to draw some blood. She whimpered with pain and he smirked darkly, looking at her reaction.</p><p>"Her beautiful eyes will be the final gift for my wife."</p><p>"You are truly one hell of a psychotic killer that does not learn how to move on," Alaude commented and he soon started to get angry at him for hurting Angelique.</p><p>"If it wasn't because of you, I would have been able to revive my dead wife for good! You ruined everything and I'll make sure that she will die! I want you to experience the feeling of losing someone you loved the most!"</p><p>Dion was about to slash Angelique's throat until Daemon used his illusionary powers to fool his eyes. His Mist flames completely obscure Angelique's appearance and make her look so much like Dion's deceased wife. He was alarmed, thinking that he would kill his wife before he immediately let her off. </p><p>Alaude took this chance by releasing the hidden handcuff from his shirt sleeve, restraining Dion's neck tightly. Dion's double was about to attack Alaude and the guests when G was fast enough to shoot at him with his arrow. He gritted his teeth with pain and he released the grenade at the guests. They screamed and Lampo grabbed it without thinking. The First Lightning screeched with fear and he was clueless about how to destroy the grenade.</p><p>"Lampo, pass that grenade to me! Now!!" Giotto yelled. </p><p>Lampo did not hesitate and threw the grenade at the young boss's direction. Giotto took it and used all his strength to throw the grenade right at the sky outside the church. The grenade was soon exploded and the people outside the church froze with shock to hear the loud sound. </p><p>Dion cursed loudly and was about to struggle when he felt something sharp almost pierced around his neck. It was Alaude's Cloud handcuff that was covered with spikes.</p><p>"You've lost. Moving another inch and it will be your instant death."</p><p>"W-why don't you kill me? After what I've done to your beloved woman?"</p><p>"I would do that, but not in this holy place. I'll just let the local police and the government to handle you."</p><p>Hours later, the guests left the church safely. Dion Anatole and his heavily injured double were arrested by the local police. Angelique had been looking forward to seeing the blonde skylark but she needed to see her family. None of them was around and the only person she could find was Antoinette. She ran to her with her curious, worried look.</p><p>"Antoinette, where are our parents and Claudine??"</p><p>"Oh...they..."</p><p>"They what? What happened?"</p><p>"They went back home."</p><p>"Why they didn't at least tell me about it?"</p><p>Antoinette gave the most guilty look she ever had for the first time and she stared at Angelique.</p><p>"The moment you said that you would never want to marry that Anatole and you rather marry someone you love, father has decided to disown you. Just like he did to our brother."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Breaking Free</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <b>At the Vongola Famiglia's Headquarters in Sicily...</b>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>It was already been two months after the serial killer had been caught and arrested. It was also the same day where Angelique Bravard had been disowned by her father all because she wanted to marry someone that she truly loved. She was not allowed to return home no matter how many times she begged to speak to her father. </p><p>As the whole people in the royalty knew about the serial killer's little connection with the Bravard family and the Anatole family, none of them wanted to associate with those two families. Marionette wanted to give her shelter but Angelique refused to do so as she did not want her to get in trouble with any royalties. </p><p>With Giotto's kindness, he let her stay at his headquarters for as long as she liked until she could decide her future.</p><p>She was seen in the guest room that was provided for her and she looked like she had not been getting proper sleep for days. She was sitting at nearby the window and was staring at the garden long enough without knowing it was already afternoon. The young boss knocked on the door twice before he entered to see how she was doing.</p><p>"Been having trouble with sleep again?" Giotto kindly asked.</p><p>"A little..." Angelique answered, still not looking at the young boss.</p><p>"It's been two months after that incident and you still can't forget your father?"</p><p>"Why should I forget him? He's my father after all."</p><p>Giotto sighed and he took a nearby chair to sit beside her.</p><p>"All I know is that a parent should not have done this to their children. Disowning them is like assuming that they did not exist in their life. I certainly will not stop you from caring about your father but I want to let you know that he still loves you as his precious daughter."</p><p>"How did you know that, Giotto? You've seen how he looks like, don't you? He surely hates me because I still choose to marry Alaude despite that killer had been arrested."</p><p>"Well, if he hates you, why did he beg Dion to let go of you?"</p><p>"Huh?"</p><p>"I apologise if I say something bad about your father. He may be a coward and I daresay that he was brave enough to talk to Dion to let go of you. Maybe he already disowned you after you refuse to marry Dion but seeing that the madman tried to kill you, he realised that his daughter is in grave danger."</p><p>"Why my family left me alone after he has been arrested? Antoinette told me that father had disowned me."</p><p>"Because of his pride, Angelique. You know your father well. He is the type that does not take back his words. He suddenly announced that he would disown you. If he accepted you again, people will talk about him. Also, he still hates Alaude's father."</p><p>"Wait, he knows Alaude's father? He didn't mention that to me."</p><p>"I guess Marionette knows the whole story," Giotto smiled before he stood up to leave the room. "You're free to make your own decisions, Angelique. Your father is not going to control your life ever again."</p><hr/><p>Giotto's advice at least made Angelique felt a little better. She still missed her father and the best thing she could do was to leave him alone and let the time to decide when they will meet again to forgive each other. The only one who had been keeping in touch with her was Philippe and she heard that he and his father, Gwenael had resigned from their jobs and they had moved to another country. She also learnt that Philippe was the eyewitness of the murder case and she was much grateful to have a loyal friend like him.</p><p>Maybe someday, she will look for him to pay a visit.</p><p>Angelique had asked for Giotto's permission to have a walk around the town of Sicily. It was the first time she ever ventured around South Italy because she only had been at Venice or northern part of Italy for social meetings long ago. Though G had warned her about possible pickpockets and was suggesting that she should be accompanied by some servants.</p><p>"Thanks for your concern but I don't need servants to accompany me."</p><p>"It's enough danger you've faced months ago, I just don't want you to get harmed once again. That blonde skylark would arrest us to death if anything bad happens to you."</p><p>"Come on, G. I'm a big girl now, and I know how to fight off these bad people. I have enough to live like royalty and I want to be just who I am."</p><p>"Yes, I understand that, but-"</p><p>"All of you are so kind to me. I am just grateful to have you as a good friend. Thanks for giving me some support. Well, right after what my father had done to me."</p><p>Angelique then left the headquarters and had a stroll around the town of Sicily. It was different from the northern part of Italy as it felt more homely and the people there were nice and friendly. Even she had been a part of the royalty, she was much comfortable helping and talking with the villagers. Without her attention, a little girl approached her and tugged lightly at her dress before she turned around. The little girl smiled brightly at Angelique and handed a piece of paper to her. She was puzzled and took the paper from her before started to read its contents.</p><p>
  <em>To: Angelique</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Someone is waiting for you inside the church. I am sure you've been looking forward to seeing them.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>From: Knuckle</em>
</p><p>She blinked after finding out that it was written by Knuckle. He could just mention who was the one waiting for her. With her curiosity, she began to walk straight to the church as Knuckle had stated. As she had arrived, she saw some children playing around while some nuns were seen hanging out some clothes to dry. Some people were already leaving the church hall, meaning that the mass had ended. Angelique then stepped in and noticed that all the people had left the church. </p><p>There was only one person who was still sitting on the frontest bench. She walked through the aisle and ended up looking quite surprised to find that Alaude was the only one who was not leaving the church yet. He was sleeping while sitting with his arms and his legs crossed. Anyone would have fallen if they slept while sitting. </p><p>Angelique blushed a little looking at his position, somewhat thinking that he was perfect to be her future husband. She blinked and shook her head hard before she came nearer to him. She smiled as she stared at his peaceful look when he slept, so she held out her hand to move some strands of his platinum blond hair from his eyes.</p><p>All of a sudden, Alaude's eyes were opened and he gave a light smirk at Angelique. He gently grabbed her hand, pulling her towards himself and pressed his lips against hers. She could not do anything and was in shock upon his sudden actions. Seconds later, she slowly responded to his loving kiss and they soon broke apart to catch some breath.</p><p>"Perhaps I should save it for a better time," said Alaude.</p><p>"W-what? What do you mean by that?" Angelique asked before she got her nose pinched by the blonde skylark.</p><p>"You naughty butterfly. You love it if I continue to kiss you much longer, right?"</p><p>"I-I'm not!" she blurted out with her reddened face. "It's just that...I'm a little disappointed that you break the kiss much quickly compared to our first one."</p><p>"No. Not now, Angelique," Alaude smiled. "I'll save that on an important day. This kiss is to congratulate you for finally escaping from the locked cage."</p><p>"Locked cage?"</p><p>"You're now free and you're up on your own to make up your own decisions."</p><p>She stared at him for a moment before she smiled back at him. It was true enough that she was finally free from her trapped life and she felt like her destiny had changed all because of a man who came to fetch her out from the locked cage. She did not care if she could not live like a duke's daughter. As long as she was happy to live with someone that she loved, it was enough.</p><p>"Angelique, have you ever wondered why I want to meet you in this church?"</p><p>"Y-you want to see me? I thought Knuckle is the one telling me to see you."</p><p>"He's just the messenger," Alaude stood up and stared back at her eyes while touching her reddened cheeks. "All I ask is...if you want to marry me, and become my beloved wife for the rest of your life?"</p><p>It was an obvious positive answer from Angelique. She almost cried while covering her mouth with her hands, nodding at Alaude. Though she could not talk, she agreed and they finally get to marry without any objections from other people. No one would stop both of them.</p><hr/><p>"Philippe! Come over here!" Gwenael called out for his son.</p><p>"W-what is it, father? I'm cleaning up all the dishes," said Philippe with his anxious look.</p><p>"A letter for you. It is a wedding invitation from milady."</p><p>"Milady? Not from Claudine or Antoinette, right?"</p><p>"The only one I can refer to is your best friend, Philippe."</p><p>"You should have just called by her name."</p><p>"I can't, even if I have resigned from the job."</p><p>Philippe chuckled and he took the letter from his father's hands. They both had resigned from their jobs at the Bravard family's mansion right after the incident where the duke had disowned his daughter, Angelique Bravard. He and his father were currently living in a small town in France. He still kept in touch with Angelique through the letters and he had received an important letter from her, along with the wedding invitation card. He tore the envelope open and read its contents with a slight smile on his lips.</p><p>
  <em>Dear Philippe,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I hope that you and Gwenael are doing fine. I have not been seeing you for a long time and this time it is a great chance to meet you once again. Alaude and I are going to marry and we are currently inviting only some important guests. That includes you, your father, Alaude's parents and some other people. The wedding is going to be a private one and not as grand as that dreadful day. I was considering to invite my father, but...maybe it is not a good idea. He is not going to attend someone's low-level wedding day.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Anyway, you better be attending as well or I'll send one army of soldiers to drag you here. And one more thing. I have permitted you to see me right before the wedding starts. I want to have a small talk with you. Don't worry, Alaude understands. He was thankful to you for helping him to save my life. I'll tell more once you come. Be sure to attend with your father. Send my regards to him, will you?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>From: Angelique</em>
</p><p>Philippe laughed as he read the letter. She was still the same old friend he knew despite what had happened to her. He could have gone to see her after he was recovered but considering that she had not been in her stable mood after being disowned by her father, he gave her some time to clear off her mind. At least he was glad that Alaude was there to cheer her up. He then told his father about the wedding invitation and while he was worrying that he did not have the proper attire to attend that important day, Gwenael lent him some black suit that he used to wear as a butler. Philippe might need to wait for his father to alter the suit to match his size.</p><hr/><p>The Vongola Headquarters looked livelier than ever all because someone important was going to marry. Giotto and others had agreed to make the wedding ceremony private and had been inviting only some guests he knew. Knuckle was busy at the church as he would be the one to read the vows later on. His other guardians were bringing some guests to the church while Elena and some of her friends were helping Angelique.</p><p>The bride for the wedding day was looking even more angelic with the dress made by Elena and Marionette. She was thankful for them and felt slightly happier. She then heard a knock at the door and Philippe entered with a friendly smile on his face. Angelique's face brightened as she came to him and gave a tight hug. Elena gestured her friends to leave both of them in the room first so that they could have a private talk.</p><p>"Angie, how are you today?" Philippe asked.</p><p>"Of course I am fine. Your presence at least makes me feel happier," Angelique replied.</p><p>"Really? I would think that you will be much happier to see your husband-to-be instead of me," he gave a slight smirk on his face.</p><p>"Oh, shut up," Angelique chuckled. "I am just glad you come over."</p><p>"You have changed a lot, Angie. I'm sorry about what happened between you and your father. I should have come over to see you but-"</p><p>"No, no. It's not your fault, Phil. I mean, Alaude had told me everything. You almost got killed for trying to save my life, so I gave you a lot of time to recover. Being an eyewitness to break that whole mystery, I am just thankful to have a friend like you. I should be the one to apologise for not coming to see you."</p><p>"Well, now we're here," Philippe smiled and pinched her nose. "My cousin volunteered to provide lots of pastries and croissants for your wedding day. You once told me that he made them the best."</p><p>"I'll thank him after this."</p><p>There was still some time, so both of them talked as if they had not been meeting for many years. It was then when Angelique reached an important thing she wanted to tell to Philippe.</p><p>"Hey, Phil. You know what, there is something I need to tell you."</p><p>"What is it, Angie?"</p><p>"Both me and Alaude had agreed about this matter. It is about having you to be our future child's godfather."</p><p>"W-what? Godfather...to your child??"</p><p>"Yes, as godfather to my future child," she noticed his curious look before she laughed. "We're not doing anything yet before the marriage, so don't give me that look."</p><p>"Sheesh, you should have told me earlier," Philippe sighed. "But why me and not someone else? Like Giotto or that Daemon."</p><p>"I honestly thought of them but I think you will fit better. Don't you find it strange for Alaude to have his boss to be his child's godfather? And I don't think he wants Daemon to be that either."</p><p>"Maybe you're right. It feels like you're giving me that honour to be your future child's godfather."</p><p>She smiled warmly and once again hugging him to thank him for becoming her future child's godfather. As the time had come, Angelique then left the headquarters and made all her way to the church with Philippe, Elena and her friends. The guests were already seated with the groom standing in front of the priest on duty. </p><p>Without Angelique's father's presence, Philippe would be the one to assist her through the church's aisle until she reached to meet Alaude. The ceremony soon ended with both of them answering their vows to be husband and wife for the rest of their life. The people who stayed nearby the church were cheering for the newlyweds.</p><p>Philippe was in his thoughts. If he had not been the one who changed her life, he would not be able to witness the happy ending that he was watching.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Epilogue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <b>Many years later, at Vongola Famiglia's headquarters...</b>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>"Lampo!! How could you lost that little kid?!"</p><p>"It's not my fault! I did keep an eye on him and he suddenly vanished!"</p><p>G was giving an irritated look at the wailing Lampo and the other guardians came to them with puzzlement.</p><p>"G-san, why are you yelling at Lampo-kun?" Asari asked with concern.</p><p>"He is supposed to take care of that boy and then he claims that boy is missing," G explained as soon he had calmed himself.</p><p>"Raniero is missing??" Knuckle exclaimed. "He is not going to leave this headquarters easily, the guards should have seen him around!"</p><p>"Ah, right then. Looks like we should find that boy around this place. Maybe he is playing hide and seek," Asari chuckled.</p><p>"Well, we'd better make sure we find him quick. Who the hell knows what his father is going to do at us if he hears about his missing son."</p><p>Giotto was done with his usual paperwork and he merely chuckled looking at his guardians who seemed to be quite busy looking for a boy named Raniero. He turned away and his orange eyes soon fell at the attention of a little boy who was seen stacking up some thick books he took from the shelf. </p><p>The boy was roughly about five years old and had a soft platinum blonde hair he inherited from his father. His sparkling blue eyes were the same as his mother's eyes. The boy's porcelain skin made him look a little pale and fragile.</p><p>As the boy was attempting to stack another thick book, he lost his balance and fell onto the floor. There was some dust on his small hands and Giotto went to him to wipe off his hands with a clean cloth. The boy just stayed still while the young boss was wiping his hands.</p><p>"You are bored, right?" Giotto softly asked and gave a slight smile at him. "Do you miss your parents?"</p><p>Raniero nodded his head slowly, still did not talk and stared at the young boss.</p><p>"I've heard from Elena that you had been quiet all these days when you start staying here. Is there anything wrong?"</p><p>The blonde boy was still silent but only a few seconds later, he started to talk with his soft voice. "Does mama and papa hate me?"</p><p>"Huh?" Giotto blinked with surprise. "Why would you say like that? Of course, they would not hate you."</p><p>"Papa rarely comes home, and I have been with mama all the time. But when mama suddenly got sick, papa had been busy taking care of mama and later sends me here."</p><p>The young boss gave a light sigh and he went on to ruffle the boy's hair to give him some comfort.</p><p>"Raniero, your parents will not hate you. They were so happy to see your presence in this world. It is indeed true that your father has been busy with his work, but I know that he was hoping to get his work done so that he could see both you and your mother. And when your mother suddenly fell sick, it is obvious that he is worried about her. If he did not do something to help your mother, who is going to take care of you?"</p><p>The boy's eyes somewhat had brightened a little and still staring at Giotto.</p><p>"You're born into this world because of your parents' love. There is no obvious reason for them to hate you."</p><p>Giotto heard a slight knock at the door and called out for anyone to open. As soon as the door opened, the fully recovered Angelique came in and smiled at both of them. Raniero ran towards his mother and took her hands, smiling brightly at her. She then carried her little son in her arms and caressed his cheeks. When Alaude came in as well, Raniero seemed to look afraid of his father and hugged his mother tightly. Seeing his son's reaction, he gave a small sigh and softened his gaze before he held out both of his hands. Angelique nodded and reassured Raniero that his father wanted to spend more time with him. She placed him right on Alaude's hands. It seemed that the blonde boy had started to feel attached to his father.</p><p>The young boss only watched them and he smiled. He was happy to see that both Angelique and Alaude had their happy ending after what they have gone through in the past.</p><hr/><p>The cold weather hit the town once again but the people were happier about other things. The influenza pandemic that happened months ago had finally ended though the virus itself had infected and took many people's lives. The affected area was pronounced safe and almost all the people rushed in to see their infected family members or friends. </p><p>This including a man named Philippe.</p><p>He was in his late forties and was on his way to Italy. The train he took was packed with anxious people as they were too heading to the same destination as he did. The affected area was already open since last week but he was late. He was dealing with something very important before he went to Italy. A train that he took was going from France to North Italy, so it was quite a long journey. He was already tired and yet, he still needed to something. He decided to take a short nap and would wake up as soon as he had arrived.</p><p>Many hours passed and the train stopped, giving a jerk movement that caused Philippe to wake up from his sleep. He blinked several times and realised that he had arrived in North Italy. He stood up and grabbed his bag before exiting the train. It took him some time to get a proper direction to his supposed destination and he reached a large white building with a symbol of the red crescent and cross. </p><p>It was the hospital that had quarantined most of the infected patients. It was declared safe and Philippe was able to go in to visit someone. He registered and walked through the dark passages to look for the ward. Once he had found it, he entered and his eyes fell upon at the presence of a young man. </p><p>The young man was probably the perfect splitting image of his father and his mother. The looks from his father and the eyes of his mother.</p><p>"I'm glad to see you safe, Raniero," Philippe called out for that young man and he went near to have a look at the other.</p><p>Raniero was about eighteen and was infected with the virus itself during his trip. He had been quarantined for more than a month. He was paler and skinnier during that time. It was a miracle that he and the few patients survived but there was something that made him depressed. Philippe gently grasped his godson's cold hands and he tried his best not to make him cry when he was about to deliver bad news.</p><p>"I want you to be prepared when I am about to tell you this news. A week ago, your parents and I were supposed to come over right after the infected area is pronounced safe to visit. A tragic accident happened. The train crashed and most of the passengers died, including your parents. I was one of those survivors trapped inside there and heavily injured. It took me a week to recover and deal with your parents' funeral."</p><p>The younger skylark was silent and gave a hollow look. It pierced his heart to hear the tragic end of his parents who came all the way to see their sick child.</p><p>"I know it's tough...and I'm sorry...for failing to be your godfather."</p><p>"...what are you talking about? It's not your fault," Raniero spoke up with a hoarse voice.</p><p>"You did not blame me? Since I am the only one survived but not Alaude and Angelique?"</p><p>"I've met them..." the younger skylark gave a sad smile. "I was meant to die a few days ago because the infection was already killing me from inside. The last thing I saw was a bright light, and I knew that I could not hold on much longer. But my parents...both of them were at there first before I came. They told me that it is not my time yet, and they told me to continue living while they were waiting for me to join them."</p><p>"You already knew that they were already gone before I come here?"</p><p>"My mother was crying so hard because she could not believe that she would be leaving too soon. My father went on to hug her to calm her down. At least I've told her that she was not alone because my father was with her. He loved her and that will not change even after their death. They were not blaming you. They were glad to see you alive so that you can take care of me."</p><p>Philippe's eyes filled with tears and he rubbed it off. He chuckled and he hugged Raniero much tightly. The guilt inside him had slowly disappeared after he heard his godson's deadly encounter. He would be bringing him to see their graves after his treatment.</p><p>"That silly girl. As long as she knows that you're safe, she can just stick up with her beloved husband. Besides, who knows if both of them might reincarnate in the next life."</p><p>"Reincarnate as what? A pair of lovely butterflies?"</p><p>"Heh, close enough. Your father called her <em>little papillon</em> when they first met."</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>
      <em>Present time in Namimori town...</em>
    </b>
  </span>
</p><p>It was not over yet. The most fearsome Head of the Disciplinary Committee was seen walking around the school grounds not only because he was making sure that the students were not breaking any school laws. He was looking for a girl who, in fact, just broke the school law for coming to school late and fell onto him when he was sleeping. Not forget to mention that she had accidentally kissed him when she fell. It felt like an unforgivable crime to him.</p><p>Though he had a strange feeling that he had met her centuries ago.</p><p>He was about to go home when he saw that same girl who was seen talking to a certain herbivore named Sawada Tsunayoshi. She had seen him and her eyes widened in shock. Hibari Kyoya had found his target and he was not going to let her go.</p><p>Talk about reincarnation.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Last Entry...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>The moment you start reading this letter, I am already travelling to another place. I spent most of my time to find the cause of the train crash that took away my parent's lives.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>While the local police had confirmed that it was a tragic accident, I was not convinced. Something was not right and I wanted to know the whole truth. People thought that I could not move on after my parent's death but they did not know what was going on.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Why did I feel like something was wrong about this train crash? I did not know. Perhaps this was the sharp intuition I had it from my father.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If, I did not return home one day, I do not want you to look for me. I want you to please keep this investigation of mine a secret. Even if I die, I will never want to let go of my parent's killer.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>That's right. It is not an accident.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It is...a murder.</em>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>From your beloved godson; Raniero.</em>
  </b>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Sequel: The Handmaiden's Diary</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A girl was reincarnated from her previous life. She went through a dark, difficult life when she was young and she intended to change and start her new life once she stepped into Namimori Middle School. </p><p>She thought it was a good start until she met the Head of Disciplinary Committee, Hibari Kyoya. Since then, she became his handmaiden. To her, it was a stroke of bad luck. </p><p>To the two souls from the previous life, they were finally reunited. Just like a pair of fragile butterfly wings</p><p><em>"Deep in my heart, I just want to be accepted. I do not want my dark past to stop me from becoming what I want to be. That is why I am trying my best to be as strong as everyone." </em> </p><p> </p>
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